What does "thumbtack" mean?

A small nail-like tack with a slightly rounded head that can be pressed into place with light pressure from the thumb; used for hanging light articles on a wall or noticeboard.

What is a synonym for "thumbtack"?

Common synonyms include: drawing pin, button, drawing pin, fastener, girth, instrument.

Thumbtack

//ˈθʌm.tæk// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
A small nail-like tack with a slightly rounded head that can be pressed into place with light pressure from the thumb; used for hanging light articles on a wall or noticeboard. Canada, US
"You say that I'm broke my nigga, how is that? Bitch I'm stickin to this paper like a thumbtack"
2
a tack for attaching papers to a bulletin board or drawing board wordnet

Verb

1
To fix or attach something with a thumbtack. transitive
"On the particle-board partition that separated his cubicle from the next, Paul had thumbtacked things that might inspire him […]"
2
fasten with thumbtacks wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

drawing pin button drawing pin fastener girth instrument

Example

More examples

""Ouch!" "What's the matter?" "I stepped on a thumbtack.""

Etymology

From thumb + tack.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.