| Principal Translations |
| thumb n | (thickest digit of the hand) | pulgar nm |
| | (coloquial) | dedo gordo loc nom m |
| | Tom held the book open with his thumb. |
| | Tom mantuvo el libro abierto con el pulgar. |
| thumb [sth]⇒ vtr | (turn pages of) | hojear⇒ vtr |
| | Lisa thumbed the pages of the book, searching for the quotation she wanted. |
| | Lisa hojeó las páginas del libro buscando la cita que quería. |
| thumb [sth] vtr | (feel with thumb) | tocar con el pulgar loc verb |
| | Mark thumbed the material, feeling its quality. |
| | Mark tocó con el pulgar el material, sintiendo su cualidad. |
Compound Forms:
|
ball,
ball of the thumb n | (base of thumb) | base del pulgar nf + loc adj |
| | The ball of my thumb hurts while I'm playing the violin. |
| | Me duele la base del pulgar cuando toco el violín. |
bullhead,
miller's thumb n | (type of catfish) (pez) | charrasco nm |
| green fingers npl | figurative, mainly UK (fondness for or skill at gardening) | habilidad para la jardinería nf + loc adj |
| | | buena mano con las plantas loc nom f |
| | My grandmother kept a beautiful garden and was known for her green fingers. |
| | Mi abuela tenía un hermoso jardín y era conocida por su habilidad para la jardinería. |
| green thumb n | figurative, mainly US (skill at gardening) | habilidad para la jardinería nf + loc adj |
| | | buena mano con las plantas loc nom f |
| | The garden is looking beautiful, thanks to Jill's green thumb. |
have a green thumb,
have green thumbs (mainly US),
have green fingers (mainly UK) v expr | (be skilled at gardening) | tener manos de jardinero loc verb |
| | | tener mano para la jardinería loc verb |
| | (AmL) | tener buena mano loc verb |
| | My mother has a green thumb: everything she touches grows well. |
| | All my cuttings took this year, so perhaps I do have green fingers after all. |
| | Mi madre tiene manos de jardinero: todo lo que toca crece bien. |
| rule of thumb n | (general indication, rough guide) | regla de oro loc nom f |
| | The rule of thumb when doing laundry is to keep light and dark clothes separate. |
| | La regla de oro para lavar ropa es separar los tejidos de color claro de los de color oscuro. |
| stick out like a sore thumb v expr | (be very conspicuous) | llamar la atención loc verb |
thumb a ride,
also UK: thumb a lift v expr | (hitchhike) | hacer dedo loc verb |
| | (CO) | pedir chance, echar dedo loc verb |
| | (PE) | tirar dedo loc verb |
| | (MX) | pedir aventón loc verb |
| | We had to thumb a lift to Glasgow as we had no money left for the bus. |
| thumb index n | (tabs on edge of a book's pages) | lengüeta nf |
| thumb through [sth] vi + prep | informal (leaf quickly through) | echar un vistazo a, echar una ojeada a loc verb |
| | | hojear⇒ vtr |
| | I thumbed through the pile of bills, just to see if any were past due. |
| | Alice thumbed through a magazine while waiting to be attended to. |
| | Le eché un vistazo a la pila de cuentas a ver si había alguna vencida. |
| thumb wrestling n | (combat using thumbs) | gallitos nm inv |
| | (CH) | gallito inglés loc nom m |
| | (AR, UY) | pulseadita china loc nom f |
| thumb your nose at [sth] v expr | informal, figurative (have no regard for) | despreciar⇒ vtr |
| | | desmerecer⇒ vtr |
| | The eccentric thumbed her nose at convention. |
| Tom Thumb n | (children's story character) | Pulgarcito n propio m |
| Tom Thumb n | figurative, informal (small person) | enano nm |
| under [sb]'s thumb expr | (controlled by [sb]) | bajo el control de loc adv |