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

Etymology

Origin of thumbtack

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

Compare meaning

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

• thumbtack vs. pushpin

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

thumbtack thumbtacks

Broadcaster TVE showed a thumbtack that its reporter on a motorbike found on the course.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 28, 2023

Then using the pushpin thumbtack, poke holes up and down the bag.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2023

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

We motored over to Aaron Island, a small thumbtack of wilderness surrounded by water.

From New York Times ● Jul. 29, 2019

There are nails and thumbtack holes all over the walls where pictures and posters have been removed.

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson

Both defending champion Remco Evenepoel of Soudal-Quickstep and two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard had punctures, according to their teams, although neither specified if they were caused by thumbtacks.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 28, 2023

These metatheatrical maneuvers at the beginning and end of “Ava” seem as if they were added last minute with thumbtacks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 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

If Run the Jewels are the polemicist poets facing America’s racial reckoning with six-foot-high spray-painted lettering, Clipping’s members are the academics connecting the horrors of the country’s past with thumbtacks and string.

From New York Times ● Oct. 19, 2020

She thumbtacks the photos to the bulletin board over her desk and Scotch tapes them to the walls of her room.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood