What does "finger" mean?
A slender jointed extremity of the human hand, (often) exclusive of the thumb.
Finger
/ˈfɪŋɡə/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A slender jointed extremity of the human hand, (often) exclusive of the thumb.
- Grammar: finger is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: digit, accuse, accuse, acquire.
- Useful contrasts: avoid, clear, exonerate.
- Usage evidence: You want to have a finger in every pie, don't you?
How to use "finger"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "finger" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "finger" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "finger" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "finger" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "finger" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "digit" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "finger", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A slender jointed extremity of the human hand, (often) exclusive of the thumb.
"Humans have two hands and ten fingers. Each hand has one thumb and four fingers."
- 2 one of the parts of a glove that provides covering for a finger or thumb wordnet
- 3 Similar or similar-looking extremities in other animals, particularly
"The starfish eats with five fingers."
- 4 any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb) wordnet
- 5 Similar or similar-looking extremities in other animals; The lower, smaller segment of an arthropod claw.
Show 32 more definitions
- 6 the length of breadth of a finger used as a linear measure wordnet
- 7 Similar or similar-looking extremities in other animals; One of the supporting structures of wings in birds, bats, etc. evolved from earlier toes or fingers.
- 8 Similar or similar-looking extremities in other animals; One of the slender bony structures before the pectoral fins of gurnards and sea robins (Triglidae).
- 9 Something similar in shape to the human finger, particularly
"...spires whose ‘silent finger points to Heaven’..."
- 10 Something similar in shape to the human finger; Finger-shaped pieces of food.
"chocolate fingers; fish fingers; cheese fingers"
- 11 Something similar in shape to the human finger; A tube extending from a sealed system, or sometimes into one in the case of a cold finger.
"An oven is placed over the finger with Co catalyst (oven temperature will depend on whether a quartz or Pyrex finger is used, see Ref. 24), and a cold finger (usually a copper rod immersed in dry ice–isopropanol slurry) is placed on the other tube."
- 12 Something similar in shape to the human finger; Synonym of foxglove (D. purpurea). UK, obsolete, plural-normally, regional
- 13 Something similarly extending, (especially) from a larger body, particularly
"a finger of land; a finger of smoke"
- 14 Something similarly extending, (especially) from a larger body; Various protruding plant structures, as a banana from its hand.
- 15 Something similarly extending, (especially) from a larger body; A lobe of the liver. obsolete
- 16 Something similarly extending, (especially) from a larger body; The teeth parallel to the blade of a scythe, fitted to a wooden frame called a crade. historical
- 17 Something similarly extending, (especially) from a larger body; The projections of a reaper or mower which similarly separate the stalks for cutting.
- 18 Something similarly extending, (especially) from a larger body; Clipping of finger pier (“a shorter, narrower pier projecting from a larger dock”). abbreviation, alt-of, clipping
- 19 Something similarly extending, (especially) from a larger body; Synonym of jet bridge: the narrow elevated walkway connecting a plane to an airport.
- 20 Something similarly extending, (especially) from a larger body; A leaf in a finger tree data structure.
- 21 Something similar in function or agency to the human finger, (usually) with regard to touching, grasping, or pointing.
"The Magicians said vnto Pharaoh; This is the finger of God."
- 22 Something similar in function or agency to the human finger, (usually) with regard to touching, grasping, or pointing.; Synonym of hand, the part of a clock pointing to the hour, minute, or second. obsolete
- 23 Something similar in function or agency to the human finger, (usually) with regard to touching, grasping, or pointing.; A policeman or prison guard. US, obsolete, slang
- 24 Something similar in function or agency to the human finger, (usually) with regard to touching, grasping, or pointing.; An informer to the police, (especially) one who identifies a criminal during a lineup. US, rare, slang
- 25 Something similar in function or agency to the human finger, (usually) with regard to touching, grasping, or pointing.; A criminal who scouts for prospective victims and targets or who performs reconnaissance before a crime. US, rare, slang
- 26 Something similar in function or agency to the human finger, (usually) with regard to touching, grasping, or pointing.; That which points; an indicator, as of guilt, blame, or suspicion. figuratively
"The finger of suspicion pointed clearly at the hotel manager."
- 27 Various units of measure based or notionally based on the adult human finger, particularly; Synonym of digit: former units of measure notionally based on its width but variously standardized, (especially) the English digit of ¹⁄₁₆ foot (about 1.9 cm). historical
"a piece of steel three fingers thick"
- 28 Various units of measure based or notionally based on the adult human finger, particularly; A unit of length notionally based on the length of an adult human's middle finger, standardized as 4½ inches (11.43 cm). historical
- 29 Various units of measure based or notionally based on the adult human finger, particularly; Synonym of digit: ¹⁄₁₂ the observed diameter of the sun or moon, (especially) with regard to eclipses. historical
- 30 Various units of measure based or notionally based on the adult human finger, particularly; An informal measure of alcohol based on its height in a given glass compared to the width of the pourer's fingers while holding it.
"Gimme three fingers of bourbon."
- 31 A part of a glove intended to cover a finger.
- 32 Skill in the use of the fingers, as in playing upon a musical instrument. informal, obsolete
"A performer capable of doing justice to rapid or expressive passages, is said to have a good finger"
- 33 Someone skilled in the use of their fingers, (especially) a pickpocket. informal, rare
- 34 A person. UK, slang
- 35 An obscene or insulting gesture made by raising one's middle finger towards someone with the palm of one's hand facing inwards. especially
- 36 Any of the individual receivers used in a rake receiver to decode signal components.
- 37 An act of fingering (inserting a finger into someone's vagina or rectum for sexual pleasure). vulgar
Verb
- 1 To identify or point out; to blame for something. transitive
"This makes it quite difficult to finger specific gene variants, since any one variant contributes only tiny effects."
- 2 indicate the fingering for the playing of musical scores for keyboard instruments wordnet
- 3 To report to or identify for the authorities; to inform on. transitive
- 4 examine by touch wordnet
- 5 To poke, probe, feel, or fondle with a finger or fingers. transitive
"Goe, get you gone: and let the papers lye: / You would be fingring them, to anger me."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 feel or handle with the fingers wordnet
- 7 To use the fingers to penetrate or sexually stimulate one's own or another person's vulva, vagina, or anus. transitive
"She fingered him, spreading the gel and sliding the tip of her finger inside him."
- 8 search for on the computer wordnet
- 9 To use specified finger positions in producing notes on a musical instrument. transitive
- 10 To provide instructions in written music as to which fingers are to be used to produce particular notes or passages. transitive
- 11 To query (a user's status) using the Finger protocol. Internet, transitive
"There is also a hot-link to "finger" the guys at id to see what they're working on next (John Carmack, John Cash […]"
- 12 To steal; to purloin. obsolete
"in the dark / Grop'd I to finde out them; had my desire, / Finger'd their Packet, and in fine, withdrew / To mine owne roome againe,"
- 13 To execute, as any delicate work. obsolete, transitive
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
- 2 A city in Tennessee.
Example
"You want to have a finger in every pie, don't you?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "finger"?
Common synonyms include: digit, accuse, accuse, acquire, advert to, allege.
How do you use "finger" in a sentence?
You want to have a finger in every pie, don't you?
How do you pronounce "finger"?
Pronounced /ˈfɪŋɡə/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
PIE word *pénkʷe From Middle English fynger, finger, from Old English finger (“finger”), from Proto-West Germanic *fingr, from Proto-Germanic *fingraz (“finger”), from Proto-Indo-European *penkʷrós, from *pénkʷe (“five”). Compare West Frisian finger, Low German/German Finger, Dutch vinger, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish finger; also Old Armenian հինգեր-որդ (hinger-ord, “fifth”). More at five.
Etymology 2
English, German, and Jewish surname, from the noun finger.