# finger

Pronunciation: US say "FING-gur" /ˈfɪŋɡəɹ/; UK say "FING-guh" /ˈfɪŋɡə/

## Noun

1. One of the slender jointed parts of the human hand, usually not counting the thumb, or a similar digit on an animal.
   - Simple: One of the long parts at the end of your hand, usually not your thumb, or a similar part on an animal.
   - _A splinter lodged deep in her finger._
   - _The pianist's fingers moved quickly across the keys._
2. An obscene gesture made by raising the middle finger toward someone with the palm facing inward.
   - Simple: A rude gesture made by raising the middle finger at someone.
   - _Furious at the call, the fan gave the umpire the finger._
   - _When the other driver cut him off, he leaned out the window and gave him the finger._
4. Something that points to or indicates guilt, blame, or suspicion.
   - Simple: Something that points to who is guilty or to blame.
   - _Once the accounts were audited, the finger of guilt pointed straight at the treasurer._
   - _Public anger sought a target, and the finger of blame settled on the contractor._
5. A piece of food cut or shaped into a long, narrow form resembling a finger.
   - Simple: A long, thin piece of food shaped like a finger.
   - _He arranged the cheese fingers neatly on the platter._
   - _Each chocolate finger was dusted lightly with cocoa._
10. The section of a glove shaped to cover a single finger.
   - Simple: The part of a glove that covers one finger.
   - _He tugged at each finger of the glove in turn before pulling it off his cold hand._
   - _She repaired a torn finger on each of the gardening gloves._
7. A long, narrow piece or projection shaped like a finger, such as a strip of land or a stick of chalk.
   - Simple: A long, thin piece of something, shaped like a finger, such as a strip of land.
   - _The teacher picked up a stubby finger of chalk and wrote the date on the board._
   - _The kids rolled the modeling clay into fat little fingers to use as octopus tentacles._
8. A projecting part of a machine or device that works like a finger to touch, grasp, guide, or separate things.
   - Simple: A part of a machine that works like a finger to touch, hold, guide, or separate things.
   - _A single finger on the sorting machine nudged each item onto the belt._
   - _Engineers designed the robotic arm with three fingers capable of delicate work._
12. An instance of inserting a finger into someone's vagina or anus for sexual pleasure.
   - Simple: A sexual act where someone puts a finger inside another person's private parts.
13. An informal measure of liquor equal to its depth in a glass, judged against the width of a finger held alongside.
   - Simple: An amount of a drink that is as tall in the glass as a finger is wide.
   - _He poured a generous finger of bourbon before dinner._
   - _The bartender measured out two fingers of scotch._
14. A protruding plant structure shaped like a finger, such as a single banana growing from its hand.
   - Simple: A long part that sticks out from a plant, like one banana on a bunch.
   - _The grower inspected every finger on the banana hand for bruises._
   - _A single finger had ripened faster than the rest of the bunch._
15. One of the digits that support the wing of a bat or pterosaur, or one of the reduced digits in a bird's wing.
   - Simple: One of the long parts that hold up a bat's wing, or one of the small ones in a bird's wing.
   - _In bats, the wing membrane stretches between greatly elongated fingers._
   - _A pterosaur's wing stretched from one enormously long finger down to its ankle._
17. Either of the two opposing parts of an arthropod's pincer, the movable one or the fixed one.
   - Simple: Either of the two parts of a crab's or lobster's claw that close together to grip things.
   - _In most crabs the movable finger opposes a fixed projection of the claw._
   - _The crab gripped the shell tightly between its two fingers._
18. A narrow elevated walkway that connects a parked plane to the airport terminal.
   - Simple: A long covered walkway that joins a plane to the airport building.
   - _Ground crew retracted the finger before the plane pushed back._
   - _A faulty finger delayed boarding at gate twelve._
19. A short, narrow pier that sticks out from a larger dock or wharf; short for finger pier. — Clipping of finger pier (“a shorter, narrower pier projecting from a larger dock”).
   - Simple: Clipping of finger pier. It means a short, narrow pier that sticks out from a larger dock.
   - _The harbormaster assigned us a finger on the south side of the marina._
   - _Several fingers extended from the main dock into the basin._
20. A tube projecting from a sealed apparatus, or in a cold finger projecting into one, used to draw off or condense material.
   - Simple: A narrow tube that reaches out of or into a closed container in a lab.
   - _Solvent vapor condensed on the cold finger and dripped back into the flask._
   - _During the sublimation, pure crystals slowly built up on the cold finger, which was chilled by running water._
21. One of the slender bony rays in front of the pectoral fins of gurnards and sea robins, used to feel along the seabed.
   - Simple: One of the thin, bony feelers in front of the side fins on certain fish.
   - _Each finger on a sea robin carries taste receptors that help it find prey buried in the sediment._
   - _The gurnard crept across the seabed, probing the sand for shrimp with the bony fingers in front of its fins._
22. A person skilled with their hands, especially a pickpocket who deftly steals from others. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A person who is clever with their hands, especially a pickpocket.
23. A person, referred to in a casual or slang manner. *(slang, UK)*
   - Simple: A casual or slang way to refer to a person.

## Verb

3. To identify a person or thing as responsible for a crime, fault or problem, especially by informing on someone to the authorities.
   - Simple: To name a person or thing as the one to blame, often by telling the police about someone.
   - _Low-level dealers will often finger their suppliers in exchange for a reduced charge._
   - _Facing a long prison sentence, the getaway driver fingered his partner as the one who planned the robbery._
9. To poke, probe, or feel something with a finger or fingers.
   - Simple: To touch, poke, or feel something with a finger.
   - _He fingered the edge of the old photograph as he spoke._
   - _Customers like to finger the silk before deciding._
6. To produce notes on a musical instrument by placing the fingers in particular positions.
   - Simple: To press the strings or keys with your fingers in a set way to play notes.
   - _Violinists must finger each note precisely to stay in tune._
   - _He fingered the rapid passage without a single mistake._
11. To sexually stimulate or penetrate one's own or a partner's genitals or anus with the fingers.
   - Simple: To touch or put fingers inside your own or another person's private parts for sexual pleasure.
   - _They fingered each other on the narrow bed._
   - _She let him finger her as they kissed._
16. To add markings to written music indicating which fingers should play particular notes or passages.
   - Simple: To mark written music to show which fingers should play each note.
   - _Editors carefully finger difficult studies to guide learners._
   - _She fingered the whole sonata before it went to print._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To query another user's online status or details by means of the Finger network protocol.
- (noun) A reference to a position in a data structure that gives fast access to nearby elements, as at the ends of a finger tree.
- (noun) One of the individual receiver units in a rake receiver, each decoding a separate multipath component of the incoming signal.
- (noun) The foxglove, a tall plant with spikes of purple bell-shaped flowers.
- (noun) One of the separate sections into which the liver is divided.
- (noun) One of the long prongs on a scythe's cradle frame, lying parallel to the blade to gather cut grain.
- (noun) The pointer on a dial that tells the time, as for hours or minutes, more usually called a hand.
- (noun) A police officer, or a guard in a prison.
- (noun) Someone who tips off the police, especially by picking out a suspect in a lineup.
- (noun) A criminal who picks out likely targets or checks out a place in advance of a robbery or other crime.
- (noun) An old measure of length roughly a finger's breadth, defined differently over time, notably the English unit equal to a sixteenth of a foot, close to 1.9 centimeters.
- (noun) A former measure for cloth, equal to 4.5 inches or 11.43 cm, roughly the length of a man's longest finger.
- (noun) In old astronomy, one twelfth of the apparent breadth of the solar or lunar disk, used mostly when measuring eclipses.
- (noun) Skill with the fingers, especially a musician's deftness in playing an instrument, as in 'a good finger.'
- (verb) To pilfer or take something dishonestly.
- (verb) To carry out fine, careful handiwork.

## Origin

From Middle English and Old English "finger," going back through Proto-Germanic *fingraz, probably to the Proto-Indo-European root *pénkʷe meaning "five." It is related to German "Finger" and Dutch "vinger."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/finger (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).