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Definition of thumb : 1. The short, thick first digit of the human hand, differing from the other fingers in having but two phalanges; the pollex. See Pollex.
2. To handle awkwardly.
3. To play with the thumb or thumbs; to play clumsily; to thrum.
4. To play with the thumbs, or with the thumbs and fingers; as, to thumb over a tune.
5. To soil or wear with the thumb or the fingers; to soil, or wear out, by frequent handling; also, to cover with the thumb; as, to thumb the touch- hole of a cannon.

Synonyms:

ripple, finger, flip out, sky, ovolo, cockle, riffle, gimp, tack, throw, leaf, ruffle, alternate, hitch, preaxial digit, hobble, investigate, flicker, feel, turn over, flip-flop, scan, click, dip into, flick, first digit, pitch, hitchhike, flip over, flip through, words, switch, catch, snap, twitch, flip, interchange, undulate, run through, riff, jerk, quarter round, limp, buck, skim, toss, pollex

Usage examples:

• But what interested me most was a straight iron bar as thick as my thumb, and about a foot and a half long. - "The Memoires of Casanova, Complete The Rare Unabridged London Edition Of 1894, plus An Unpublished Chapter of History, By Arthur Symons", Jacques Casanova de Seingalt.
• You hold him between the finger and thumb, one on each side of his waist, and pull the string. - "What Shall We Do Now?: Five Hundred Games and Pastimes", Dorothy Canfield Fisher.
• Do you bite your thumb at us, sir? - "Dramatic Technique", George Pierce Baker.