thumbtack

American  

[thuhm-tak] / ˈθʌmˌtæk /

noun

• thumbtacks
  plural

1. a tack with a large, flat head, designed to be thrust into a board or other fairly soft object or surface by the pressure of the thumb.

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verb (used with object)

1. to attach or tack by means of a thumbtack.

thumbtack British  

/ ˈθʌmˌtæk /

noun

1. Also called (esp in Britain): drawing pin. a short tack with a broad smooth head for fastening papers to a drawing board, etc

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• thumbtacks
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of thumbtack

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; thumb + tack ¹

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Compare meaning

How does thumbtack compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• thumbtack vs. pushpin

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

thumbtack thumbtacks

The methyl group acts like a tiny thumbtack set out on the seat the antibiotic was hoping to take, Polikanov said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 15, 2024

In 2017, BuzzFeed News reported a long list of stomach-churning discoveries: A woman unearthed a thumbtack in her Cheerios, and a man bit down on a bone from his box of Frosted Mini-Wheats.

From Slate ● Mar. 23, 2021

You might even wish to write down what you feel, laminate it and thumbtack it to a free-standing bulletin board for all to see.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 19, 2018

One of his fellow riders joked that if there had been a thumbtack on his bike seat, it might have felt better.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 28, 2017

But then one day he saw her standing before the bathroom mirror, solemnly applying, with the head of a thumbtack, a fresh stroke of scarlet powder, which she stored in a small jam jar.

From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri

They’ve come to this cesspool to find the villainous Krem, an unrecognizably vile Matthias Schoenaerts with a mug that’s been pierced all over like he face-planted into a pile of thumbtacks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026

BARCELONA, Spain — Andreas Kron of Denmark won a rainy second stage of the Spanish Vuelta that local media reported was marred when several competitors rode over thumbtacks on Sunday.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 28, 2023

It’s as visually pulse-pounding as thumbtacks on a driveway, and an invitation to close one’s eyes and concentrate on the A.S.M.R. pleasure of shuddering steel.

From New York Times ● Jun. 8, 2023

While we are on ravioli, even if they are stuffed with thumbtacks and rusty pennies, they are better than spaghetti.

From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2023

They stuffed this around the doorjamb and fixed it over the knotholes with thumbtacks borrowed from the Fujitas.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

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