■ noun the short, thick first digit of the hand, set lower and apart from the other four and opposable to them.
■ verb
1》 press, touch, or indicate with one's ~.
2》 turn over (pages) with or as if with one's ~.
↘[usu. as adjective ~ed ] wear or soil (a book's pages) by repeated handling.
3》 request or obtain (a free ride in a passing vehicle) by signalling with one's ~.
Phrases
~ one's nose at informal show disdain or contempt for. [with ref. to the gesture of putting one's ~ on one's nose and spreading the fingers.]
~s up (or down ) informal an indication of satisfaction or approval (or of rejection or failure). [with ref. to the signal of approval or disapproval used by spectators at a Roman amphitheatre (although the Romans used the symbols in reverse).]
under someone's ~ completely under someone's influence or control.
Derivatives
~ed adjective
~less adjective
Origin
OE thūma , of W. Gmc origin.