# middle finger

Pronunciation: US say "MID-uhl fing-ger" /ˈmɪdəl ˌfɪŋɡɚ/; UK say "MID-uhl fing-guh" /ˈmɪdəl ˌfɪŋɡə/

## Noun

1. The third digit of the hand, found between the forefinger and the ring finger.
   - Simple: The finger in the middle of your hand, between the pointing finger and the ring finger.
   - _The pianist strained a tendon in her left middle finger._
   - _On most people the middle fingers are the longest fingers._
2. An obscene gesture of insult, made at someone by sticking up the middle finger of one hand.
   - Simple: A rude sign made by holding up your middle finger at someone to insult them.
   - _The pitcher was fined after flashing the middle finger at hecklers in the stands._
   - _Fans booed when the striker answered their jeers with a middle finger._
3. An insult aimed at someone, made through words or actions rather than the actual gesture.
   - Simple: Something someone says or does to insult another person, without making the real hand sign.
   - _Closing the factory the day after the subsidy arrived was a middle finger to the whole town._
   - _Fans saw the band's farewell album as a final middle finger to their record label._

## Origin

From Middle English myddel fyngir; by surface analysis, middle + finger.

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