fingers

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of finger.

   The pianist's fingers moved quickly across the keys.

   She wrapped her fingers around the warm mug.

   Note

   The plural carries every sense of the noun, not only the hand. A bat's wing is built on fingers, a gurnard has bony fingers in front of its pectoral fins, and anything finger-shaped can come in fingers. A finger is often counted apart from the thumb, so a hand may be said to have four fingers or five. When the count matters, say which you mean.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of finger.

   The shopper fingers each apple before placing it in the basket.

   She nervously fingers the edge of her scarf throughout the interview.

   Note

   Every use of the verb is transitive, so this form always needs an object: she fingers the suspect, he fingers the passage, the clerk fingers the cloth. The object decides the meaning, which ranges from blaming or informing on someone to touching something or a musician's fingering. One sense is sexual, so when the object is a person, the phrasing should leave no doubt. The spelling is shared with the noun plural.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2