THUMB

[verb] [I or T] [informal]You thumb by standing near the edge of a road and holding out your hand with the thumb raised as a signal for a vehicle to stop and take you on its journey.We thumbed (a lift) to London for the weekend.To thumb your nose at someone is to show a lack of respect towards them.He has thumbed his nose at authority all his life.You thumb through a book or some papers by turning the pages quickly and only reading small parts."Have you read the report?" "Well I thumbed through (it) quickly on the train."A well-thumbed book/copy/magazine is one whose slightly damaged appearance shows that it has been used many times.