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finger

Pronunciation: /ˈfɪŋgə/
Translate finger | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of finger

noun

  • each of the four slender jointed parts attached to either hand (or five, if the thumb is included): she raked her hair back with her fingers
  • a part of a glove intended to cover a finger.
  • a measure of spirits in a glass, based on the breadth of a finger:two fingers of brandy
  • an object that has roughly the long, narrow shape of a finger:a shortbread finger

verb

[with object]
  • 1touch or feel with the fingers:the thin man fingered his moustache
  • play (a musical instrument) with the fingers, especially in a tentative or casual manner:a woman fingered a lute
  • 2 informal, chiefly North American inform on (someone) to the police:he was fingered by a supergrass and charged with murder
  • identify or select:the additive had been fingered as a possible human health risk
  • 3 Music play (a passage) with a particular sequence of positions of the fingers. See also fingering1.
  • mark (music) with signs showing which fingers are to be used.

Phrases

be all fingers and thumbs

British informal be clumsy or awkward in one’s actions.

get (or pull) one's finger out

British informal cease prevaricating and start to act.

get one's fingers burned/burnt (or burn one's fingers)

(especially in a financial context) suffer unpleasant consequences as a result of one’s actions, discouraging one from trying a similar action again.

give someone the finger

North American informal make a gesture with the middle finger raised as an obscene sign of contempt.

have a finger in every pie

be involved in a large and varied number of activities or enterprises.

have a finger in the pie

be involved in a matter, especially in an annoyingly interfering way.

have (or keep) one's finger on the pulse

be aware of all the latest news or developments:he keeps his finger on the pulse of world music

lay a finger on someone

touch someone, especially with the intention of harming them.

put the finger on

informal inform against (someone) to the authorities.

put something on the long finger

Irish postpone consideration of something; put something off:don’t put retirement planning on the long finger

put one's finger on something

identify something exactly:he cannot put his finger on what has gone wrong

snap (or click) one's fingers

make a sharp clicking sound by bending the last joint of the middle finger against the thumb and suddenly releasing it, typically in order to attract attention in a peremptory way or to accompany the beat of music.

twist (or wind or wrap) someone around one's little finger

see little finger.

work one's fingers to the bone

see bone.

Derivatives

fingered

adjective
[in combination]:a two-fingered whistle

fingerless

adjective

Origin:

Old English, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vinger and German Finger

finger in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of finger in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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