thumb
noun
the short, thick, inner digit of the human hand, next to the forefinger.
were thumbing
-
past progressiveof thumb.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Gabriel Tiné, an 18-year-old osteopathy student in Paris, has spent over €200 from his pass at Citeaux Sphère, a Parisian record store, where he and a friend were thumbing through vinyls on a recent afternoon.
From New York Times ● Jul. 28, 2021
They were thumbing through online dictionaries, looking for a definition of “impugn.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 11, 2017
Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax only became unstoppable after Radio 1 banned it, enabling purchasers to feel they were thumbing their nose at the stuffy censoriousness of the state broadcaster.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 11, 2013
As Kennedy's nephew Robert F. Kennedy Jr. puts it, "When Lem and Jack got together, it was almost as if they were thumbing their noses at the world."
From Time Magazine Archive
Tears streamed down her face, and even though I couldn’t see anybody else’s face, really, I could tell a lot of people were crying by the way folks were thumbing the corners of their eyes.
From "The Boy in the Black Suit" by Jason Reynolds
