Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - Letter T - Page 37
Throwing (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Throw.
Throw (v. t.) To fling, cast, or hurl with a certain whirling motion of the arm, to throw a ball; -- distinguished from to toss, or to bowl.
Throw (v. t.) To fling or cast in any manner; to drive to a distance from the hand or from an engine; to propel; to send; as, to throw stones or dust with the hand; a cannon throws a ball; a fire engine throws a stream of water to extinguish flames.
Throw (v. t.) To drive by violence; as, a vessel or sailors may be thrown upon a rock.
Throw (v. t.) (Mil.) To cause to take a strategic position; as, he threw a detachment of his army across the river.
Throw (v. t.) To overturn; to prostrate in wrestling; as, a man throws his antagonist.
Throw (v. t.) To cast, as dice; to venture at dice.
Set less than thou throwest. -- Shak.
Throw (v. t.) To put on hastily; to spread carelessly.
O'er his fair limbs a flowery vest he threw. -- Pope.
Throw (v. t.) To divest or strip one's self of; to put off.
There the snake throws her enameled skin. -- Shak.
Throw (v. t.) (Pottery) To form or shape roughly on a throwing engine, or potter's wheel, as earthen vessels.
Throw (v. t.) To give forcible utterance to; to cast; to vent.
I have thrown A brave defiance in King Henry's teeth. -- Shak.
Throw (v. t.) To bring forth; to produce, as young; to bear; -- said especially of rabbits.
Throw (v. t.) To twist two or more filaments of, as silk, so as to form one thread; to twist together, as singles, in a direction contrary to the twist of the singles themselves; -- sometimes applied to the whole class of operations by which silk is prepared for the weaver. -- Tomlinson.
To throw away. (a) To lose by neglect or folly; to spend in vain; to bestow without a compensation; as, to throw away time; to throw away money.
To throw away. (b) To reject; as, to throw away a good book, or a good offer.
To throw back. (a) To retort; to cast back, as a reply.
To throw back. (b) To reject; to refuse.
To throw back. (c) To reflect, as light.
To throw by, To lay aside; to discard; to neglect as useless; as, to throw by a garment.
To throw down, To subvert; to overthrow; to destroy; as, to throw down a fence or wall.
To throw in. (a) To inject, as a fluid.
To throw in. (b) To put in; to deposit with others; to contribute; as, to throw in a few dollars to help make up a fund; to throw in an occasional comment.
To throw in. (c) To add without enumeration or valuation, as something extra to clinch a bargain.
To throw off. (a) To expel; to free one's self from; as, to throw off a disease.
To throw off. (b) To reject; to discard; to abandon; as, to throw off all sense of shame; to throw off a dependent.
To throw off. (c) To make a start in a hunt or race. [Eng.]
To throw on, To cast on; to load.
To throw one's self down, To lie down neglectively or suddenly.
To throw one's self on or To throw one's self upon. (a) To fall upon.
To throw one's self on or To throw one's self upon. (b) To resign one's self to the favor, clemency, or sustain power of (another); to repose upon.
To throw out. (a) To cast out; to reject or discard; to expel. "The other two, whom they had thrown out, they were content should enjoy their exile." -- Swift. "The bill was thrown out." -- Swift.
To throw out. (b) To utter; to give utterance to; to speak; as, to throw out insinuation or observation. "She throws out thrilling shrieks." -- Spenser.
To throw out. (c) To distance; to leave behind. -- Addison.
To throw out. (d) To cause to project; as, to throw out a pier or an abutment.
To throw out. (e) To give forth; to emit; as, an electric lamp throws out a brilliant light.
To throw out. (f) To put out; to confuse; as, a sudden question often throws out an orator.
To throw over, To abandon the cause of; to desert; to discard; as, to throw over a friend in difficulties.
To throw up. (a) To resign; to give up; to demit; as, to throw up a commission. "Experienced gamesters throw up their cards when they know that the game is in the enemy's hand." -- Addison.
To throw up. (b) To reject from the stomach; to vomit.
To throw up. (c) To construct hastily; as, to throw up a breastwork of earth.
Throw (v. i.) To perform the act of throwing or casting; to cast; specifically, to cast dice.
To throw about, To cast about; to try expedients. [R.]
Throw (n.) The act of hurling or flinging; a driving or propelling from the hand or an engine; a cast.
He heaved a stone, and, rising to the throw, He sent it in a whirlwind at the foe. -- Addison.
Throw (n.) A stroke; a blow. [Obs.]
Nor shield defend the thunder of his throws. -- Spenser.
Throw (n.) The distance which a missile is, or may be, thrown; as, a stone's throw.
Throw (n.) A cast of dice; the manner in which dice fall when cast; as, a good throw.
Throw (n.) An effort; a violent sally. [Obs.]
Your youth admires The throws and swellings of a Roman soul. -- Addison.
Throw (n.) (Mach.) The extreme movement given to a sliding or vibrating reciprocating piece by a cam, crank, eccentric, or the like; travel; stroke; as, the throw of a slide valve. Also, frequently, the length of the radius of a crank, or the eccentricity of an eccentric; as, the throw of the crank of a steam engine is equal to half the stroke of the piston.
Throw (n.) (Pottery) A potter's wheel or table; a jigger. See 2d Jigger, 2 (a).
Throw (n.) A turner's lathe; a throwe. [Prov. Eng.]
Throw (n.) (Mining) The amount of vertical displacement produced by a fault; -- according to the direction it is designated as an upthrow, or a downthrow.
Throw (n.) The act of throwing (propelling something with a rapid movement of the arm and wrist); "the catcher made a good throw to second base."
Throw (n.) A single chance or instance; "he couldn't afford $50 a throw."
Throw (n.) The maximum movement available to a pivoted or reciprocating piece by a cam [syn: throw, stroke, cam stroke].
Throw (n.) Bedclothes consisting of a lightweight cloth covering (an afghan or bedspread) that is casually thrown over something.
Throw (n.) Casting an object in order to determine an outcome randomly; "he risked his fortune on a throw of the dice."
Throw (v.) Propel through the air; "throw a Frisbee."
Throw (v.) Move violently, energetically, or carelessly; "She threw herself forwards."
Throw (v.) Get rid of; "he shed his image as a pushy boss"; "shed your clothes" [syn: shed, cast, cast off, shake off, throw, throw off, throw away, drop].
Throw (v.) Place or put with great energy; "She threw the blanket around the child"; "thrust the money in the hands of the beggar" [syn: throw, thrust].
Throw (v.) Convey or communicate; of a smile, a look, a physical gesture; "Throw a glance"; "She gave me a dirty look" [syn: give, throw].
Throw (v.) Cause to go on or to be engaged or set in operation; "switch on the light"; "throw the lever" [syn: throw, flip, switch].
Throw (v.) Put or send forth; "She threw the flashlight beam into the corner"; "The setting sun threw long shadows"; "cast a spell"; "cast a warm light" [syn: project, cast, contrive, throw].
Throw (v.) To put into a state or activity hastily, suddenly, or carelessly; "Jane threw dinner together"; "throw the car into reverse."
Throw (v.) Cause to be confused emotionally [syn: bewilder, bemuse, discombobulate, throw].
Throw (v.) Utter with force; utter vehemently; "hurl insults"; "throw accusations at someone" [syn: hurl, throw].
Throw (v.) Organize or be responsible for; "hold a reception"; "have, throw, or make a party"; "give a course" [syn: hold, throw, have, make, give].
Throw (v.) Make on a potter's wheel; "she threw a beautiful teapot."
Throw (v.) Cause to fall off; "The horse threw its inexperienced rider."
Throw (v.) Throw (a die) out onto a flat surface; "Throw a six."
Throw (v.) Be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly; "These questions confuse even the experts"; "This question completely threw me"; "This question befuddled even the teacher" [syn: confuse, throw, fox, befuddle, fuddle, bedevil, confound, discombobulate].
Throw-crook (n.) (Agric.) An instrument used for twisting ropes out of straw.
Throwe (n.) A turning lathe. [Prov. Eng.]
Thrower (n.) One who throws. Specifically:
Thrower (n.) (a) One who throws or twists silk; a throwster.
Thrower (n.) (b) One who shapes vessels on a throwing engine.
Thrower (n.) A person who twists silk or rayon filaments into a thread or yarn [syn: throwster, thrower].
Thrower (n.) Someone who projects something (especially by a rapid motion of the arm).
Thrower (n.) A craftsman who shapes pottery on a potter's wheel and bakes them it a kiln [syn: potter, thrower, ceramicist, ceramist].
Throwing (a. & n.) from Throw, v.
Throwing engine, Throwing mill, Throwing table, or Throwing wheel (Pottery), A machine on which earthenware is first rudely shaped by the hand of the potter from a mass of clay revolving rapidly on a disk or table carried by a vertical spindle; a potter's wheel.
Thrown () a. & p. p. from Throw, v.
Thrown silk, Silk thread consisting of two or more singles twisted together like a rope, in a direction contrary to that in which the singles of which it is composed are twisted. -- M'Culloch.
Thrown singles, Silk thread or cord made by three processes of twisting, first into singles, two or more of which are twisted together making dumb singles, and several of these twisted together to make thrown singles.
Thrown (a.) Caused to fall to the ground; "the thrown rider got back on his horse"; "a thrown wrestler"; "a ball player thrown for a loss."
Thrown (a.) Twisted together; as of filaments spun into a thread; "thrown silk is raw silk that has been twisted and doubled into yarn" [syn: thrown, thrown and twisted].
Throw-off (n.) A start in a hunt or a race. [Eng.]
Throwster (n.) One who throws or twists silk; a thrower.
Throwster (n.) A person who twists silk or rayon filaments into a thread or yarn [syn: throwster, thrower].
Compare: Thyroid
Thyroid (a.) Shaped like an oblong shield; shield-shaped; as, the thyroid cartilage.
Thyroid (a.) (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the thyroid body, thyroid cartilage, or thyroid artery; thyroideal.
Thyroid cartilage. See under Larynx.
Thyroid body, or Thyroid gland (Anat.), An endocrine gland having two lobes, located in the floor of the mouth or the region of the larynx, which secretes two hormones ({thyroxine and triiodothyronine) that regulate the rates of growth and metabloism. In man and most mammals it is a highly vascular organ, partly surrounding the base of the larynx and the upper part of the trachea. Cases of hypothyroidism, where the gland is insufficiently active, can be treated by administration of thyroxine or a combination of thyroxine and triiodothyronine.
Thyroid dislocation (Surg.), Dislocation of the thigh bone into the thyroid foramen.
Thyroid foramen, The obturator foramen.
Thyroxine (n.) Hormone produced by the thyroid glands to regulate metabolism by controlling the rate of oxidation in cells; "thyroxine is 65% iodine" [syn: thyroxine, thyroxin, tetraiodothyronine, T].
Thyroxine (n.) An iodine-containing hormone that is produced by the thyroid gland, increases the rate of cell metabolism, regulates growth, and is made synthetically for treatment of thyroid disorders.
Thru (prep., adv. & a.) Through. [Ref. spelling.]
Thrum (v. t.) To play, as a stringed instrument, in a rude or monotonous manner.
Thrum (v. t.) Hence, to drum on; to strike in a monotonous manner; to thrum the table.
Thrum (n.) One of the ends of weaver's threads; hence, any soft, short threads or tufts resembling these.
Thrum (n.) Any coarse yarn; an unraveled strand of rope.
Thrum (n.) (Bot.) A threadlike part of a flower; a stamen.
Thrum (n.) (Mining) A shove out of place; a small displacement or fault along a seam.
Thrum (n.) (Naut.) A mat made of canvas and tufts of yarn.
Thrum cap, A knitted cap. -- Halliwell.
Thrum hat, A hat made of coarse woolen cloth. -- Minsheu.
Thrummed (imp. & p. p.) of Thrum.
Thrumming (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Thrum.
Thrum (v. t.) To furnish with thrums; to insert tufts in; to fringe.
Are we born to thrum caps or pick straw? -- Quarles.
Thrum (v. t.) (Naut.) To insert short pieces of rope-yarn or spun yarn in; as, to thrum a piece of canvas, or a mat, thus making a rough or tufted surface. -- Totten.
Thrum (v. i.) To play rudely or monotonously on a stringed instrument with the fingers; to strum.
Thrum (v. i.) Hence, to make a monotonous drumming noise; as, to thrum on a table.
Thrum (n.) A thrumming sound; "he could hear the thrum of a banjo."
Thrum (v.) Sound with a monotonous hum [syn: hum, thrum].
Thrum (v.) Sound the strings of (a string instrument); "strum a guitar" [syn: strum, thrum].
Thrum (v.) Make a rhythmic sound; "Rain drummed against the windshield"; "The drums beat all night" [syn: drum, beat, thrum].
Thrum-eyed (a.) (Bot.) Having the anthers raised above the stigma, and visible at the throat of the corolla, as in long-stamened primroses; -- the reverse of pin-eyed.
Thrummy (a.) Like thrums; made of, furnished with, or characterized by, thrums. -- Dampier.
On her head thrummy cap she had. -- Chalkhill.
Thrumwort (n.) (Bot.) A kind of amaranth ({Amarantus caudatus). -- Dr. Prior.
Thruout () Throughout. [Ref. spelling.]
Compare: Frush
Frush (n.) (Far.) The frog of a horse's foot.
Frush (n.) A discharge of a fetid or ichorous matter from the frog of a horse's foot; -- also caled thrush.
Thrush (n.) (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of singing birds belonging to Turdus and allied genera. They are noted for the sweetness of their songs.
Note: Among the best-known European species are the song thrush or throstle ({Turdus musicus), the missel thrush (see under Missel), the European redwing, and the blackbird. The most important American species are the wood thrush ({Turdus mustelinus), Wilson's thrush ({Turdus fuscescens), the hermit thrush (see under Hermit), Swainson's thrush ({Turdus Aliciae"> Hermit), Swainson's thrush ({Turdus Aliciae), and the migratory thrush, or American robin (see Robin).
Thrush (n.) (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of singing birds more or less resembling the true thrushes in appearance or habits; as the thunderbird and the American brown thrush (or thrasher). See Brown thrush.
Ant thrush. See Ant thrush, Breve, and Pitta.
Babbling thrush, Any one of numerous species of Asiatic timaline birds; -- called also babbler.
Fruit thrush, Any species of bulbul.
Shrike thrush. See under Shrike.
Stone thrush, The missel thrush; -- said to be so called from its marbled breast.
Thrush nightingale. See Nightingale, 2.
Thrush tit, Any one of several species of Asiatic singing birds of the genus Cochoa. They are beautifully colored birds allied to the tits, but resembling thrushes in size and habits.
Water thrush. (a) The European dipper.
Water thrush. (b) An American warbler ({Seiurus Noveboracensis).
Thrush (n.) (Med.) An affection of the mouth, fauces, etc., common in newly born children, characterized by minute ulcers called aphthae. See Aphthae.
Thrush (n.) (Far.) An inflammatory and suppurative affection of the feet in certain animals. In the horse it is in the frog.
Thrush (n.) Candidiasis of the oral cavity; seen mostly in infants or debilitated adults.
Thrush (n.) A woman who sings popular songs.
Thrush (n.) Songbirds characteristically having brownish upper plumage with a spotted breast.
Thrushel (n.) The song thrush. [Prov. Eng.]
Thrusher (n.) The song thrush. [Prov. Eng.]
Thrust (v. i.) To make a push; to attack with a pointed weapon; as, a fencer thrusts at his antagonist.
Thrust (v. i.) To enter by pushing; to squeeze in.
And thrust between my father and the god. -- Dryden.
Thrust (v. i.) To push forward; to come with force; to press on; to intrude. "Young, old, thrust there in mighty concourse." -- Chapman.
To thrust to, To rush upon. [Obs.]
As doth an eager hound Thrust to an hind within some covert glade. -- Spenser.
Thrust (n. & v.) Thrist. [Obs.] -- Spenser.
Thrust (imp. & p. p.) of Thrust.
Thrusting (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Thrust.
Thrust (v. t.) To push or drive with force; to drive, force, or impel; to shove; as, to thrust anything with the hand or foot, or with an instrument.
Into a dungeon thrust, To work with slaves. -- Milton.
Thrust (v. t.) To stab; to pierce; -- usually with through.
To thrust away or To thrust from, To push away; to reject.
To thrust in, To push or drive in.
To thrust off, To push away.
To thrust on, To impel; to urge.
To thrust one's self in or To thrust one's self into, To obtrude upon, to intrude, as into a room; to enter (a place) where one is not invited or not welcome.
To thrust out, To drive out or away; to expel.
To thrust through, To pierce; to stab. "I am eight times thrust through the doublet." -- Shak.
To thrust together, To compress.
Thrust (n.) A violent push or driving, as with a pointed weapon moved in the direction of its length, or with the hand or foot, or with any instrument; a stab; -- a word much used as a term of fencing.
[Polites] Pyrrhus with his lance pursues, And often reaches, and his thrusts renews. -- Dryden.
Thrust (n.) An attack; an assault.
One thrust at your pure, pretended mechanism. -- Dr. H. More.
Thrust (n.) (Mech.) The force or pressure of one part of a construction against other parts; especially (Arch.), a horizontal or diagonal outward pressure, as of an arch against its abutments, or of rafters against the wall which support them.
Thrust (n.) (Mining) The breaking down of the roof of a gallery under its superincumbent weight.
Thrust bearing (Screw Steamers), A bearing arranged to receive the thrust or endwise pressure of the screw shaft.
Thrust plane (Geol.), The surface along which dislocation has taken place in the case of a reversed fault.
Syn: Push; shove; assault; attack.
Usage: Thrust, Push, Shove. Push and shove usually imply the application of force by a body already in contact with the body to be impelled. Thrust, often, but not always, implies the impulse or application of force by a body which is in motion before it reaches the body to be impelled.
Thrust (n.) The force used in pushing; "the push of the water on the walls of the tank"; "the thrust of the jet engines" [syn: push, thrust].
Thrust (n.) A strong blow with a knife or other sharp pointed instrument; "one strong stab to the heart killed him" [syn: stab, thrust, knife thrust].
Thrust (n.) The act of applying force to propel something; "after reaching the desired velocity the drive is cut off" [syn: drive, thrust, driving force].
Thrust (n.) Verbal criticism; "he enlivened his editorials with barbed thrusts at politicians."
Thrust (n.) A sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow); "he warned me with a jab with his finger"; "he made a thrusting motion with his fist" [syn: jab, jabbing, poke, poking, thrust, thrusting].
Thrust (v.) Push forcefully; "He thrust his chin forward."
Thrust (v.) Press or force; "Stuff money into an envelope"; "She thrust the letter into his hand" [syn: thrust, stuff, shove, squeeze].
Thrust (v.) Make a thrusting forward movement [syn: lunge, hurl, hurtle, thrust].
Thrust (v.) Impose urgently, importunately, or inexorably; "She forced her diet fads on him" [syn: force, thrust].
Thrust (v.) Penetrate or cut through with a sharp instrument [syn: pierce, thrust].
Thrust (v.) Force (molten rock) into pre-existing rock.
Thrust (v.) Push upward; "The front of the trains that had collided head-on thrust up into the air" [syn: thrust, push up].
Thrust (v.) Place or put with great energy; "She threw the blanket around the child"; "thrust the money in the hands of the beggar" [syn: throw, thrust].
Thruster (n.) One who thrusts or stabs.
Thruster (n.) One who intrudes or pushes himself forward [syn: pusher, thruster].
Thruster (n.) A small rocket engine that provides the thrust needed to maneuver a spacecraft.
Thrusting (n.) The act of pushing with force.
Thrusting (n.) (Dairies) The act of squeezing curd with the hand, to expel the whey.
Thrusting (n.) (Dairies) pl. The white whey, or that which is last pressed out of the curd by the hand, and of which butter is sometimes made. [Written also thrutchthings.] [Prov. Eng.]
Thrusting screw, The screw of a screw press, as for pressing curd in making cheese. [R.]
Thrusting (n.) A sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow); "he warned me with a jab with his finger"; "he made a thrusting motion with his fist" [syn: jab, jabbing, poke, poking, thrust, thrusting].
Thrustle (n.) (Zool.) The throstle, or song thrust. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
When he heard the thrustel sing. -- Chaucer.
Thryes (a.) Thrice. [Obs.] -- Chaucer.
Thryfallow (v. t.) To plow for the third time in summer; to trifallow. [R.]
[Written also thrifallow.] -- Tusser.
Thud (v. i. & t.) To make, or strike so as to make, a dull sound, or thud.
Hardly the softest thudding of velvety pads. -- A. C. Doyle.
The waves break into spray, dash and rumble and thud below your feet. -- H. F. Brown.
Thud (n.) A dull sound without resonance, like that produced by striking with, or striking against, some comparatively soft substance; also, the stroke or blow producing such sound; as, the thrud of a cannon ball striking the earth.
At every new thud of the blast, a sob arose. -- Jeffrey.
At intervals there came some tremendous thud on the side of the steamer. -- C. Mackay.
Thud (n.) A heavy dull sound (as made by impact of heavy objects) [syn: thump, thumping, clump, clunk, thud].
Thud (v.) Make a dull sound; "the knocker thudded against the front door" [syn: thud, thump].
Thud (v.) Strike with a dull sound; "Bullets were thudding against the Wall."
Thud (v.) Make a noise typical of an engine lacking lubricants [syn: crump, thud, scrunch].
Thud (n.) Yet another metasyntactic variable (see foo). It is reported that at CMU from the mid-1970s the canonical series of these was ?foo?, ?bar?, ?thud?, ?blat?.
Thud (n.) Rare term for the hash character, ?#? (ASCII 0100011). See ASCII for other synonyms.
Thud, () Yet another metasyntactic variable (see foo). It is reported that at CMU from the mid-1970s the canonical series of these was "foo", "bar", "thud", "blat".
Thud, () Rare term for the hash character, "#" (ASCII 35). See ASCII for other synonyms. [{Jargon File]
Thug (n.) One of an association of robbers and murderers in India who practiced murder by stealthy approaches, and from religious motives. They have been nearly exterminated by the British government.
Thug (n.) An assassin; a ruffian; a rough. "Thugs and midnight rounders." -- The Century.
Thug (n.) An aggressive and violent young criminal [syn: hood, hoodlum, goon, punk, thug, tough, toughie, strong-armer].
Thuggee (n.) The practice of secret or stealthy murder by Thugs. "One of the suppressors of Thuggee." -- J. D. Hooker. Thuggery
Thuggee (n.) Murder and robbery by thugs.
Thuggery (n.) Alt. of Thuggism.
Thuggism (n.) Thuggee.
Thuja (n.) (Bot.) A genus of evergreen trees, thickly branched, remarkable for the distichous arrangement of their branches, and having scalelike, closely imbricated, or compressed leaves. [Written also thuya.] See Thyine wood.
Note: Thuja occidentalis is the Arbor vitae of the Eastern and Northern United States. Thuja gigantea of North-western America is a very large tree, there called red cedar, and canoe cedar, and furnishes a useful timber.
Thuja (n.) Red cedar [syn: Thuja, genus Thuja].
Thule (n.) The name given by ancient geographers to the northernmost part of the habitable world. According to some, this land was Norway, according to others, Iceland, or more probably Mainland, the largest of the Shetland islands; hence, the Latin phrase ultima Thule, farthest Thule.
Thule (n.) A town in northwestern Greenland; during World War II a United States naval base was built there.
Thule (n.) The geographical region believed by ancient geographers to be the northernmost land in the inhabited world [syn: Thule, ultima Thule].
Thulia (n.) [NL.] (Chem.) Oxide of thulium.
Thulium (n.) (Chem.) A rare metallic element of the lanthanide group having atomic number 69, and atomic weight 168.93. It is found in the mineral gadolinite and other minerals, together with other rare earths. For more information see the data from ChemGlobe.
Thulium (n.) A soft silvery metallic element of the rare earth group; isotope 170 emits X-rays and is used in small portable X-ray machines; it occurs in monazite and apatite and xenotime [syn: thulium, Tm, atomic number 69].
Thulium
Symbol: Tm
Atomic number: 69
Atomic weight: 168.934
Soft grey metallic element that belongs to the lanthanoids. One natural isotope exists, Tm-169, and seventeen artificial isotopes have been produced. No known uses for the element. Discovered in 1879 by Per Theodor Cleve.
Thumb (n.) The short, thick first digit of the human hand, differing from the other fingers in having but two phalanges; the pollex. See Pollex.
Upon his thumb he had of gold a ring. -- Chaucer.
Thumb band, A twist of anything as thick as the thumb. -- Mortimer.
Thumb blue, Indigo in the form of small balls or lumps, used by washerwomen to blue linen, and the like.
Thumb latch, A door latch having a lever formed to be pressed by the thumb.
Thumb mark. (a) The mark left by the impression of a thumb, as on the leaves of a book. -- Longfellow.
Thumb mark. (b) The dark spot over each foot in finely bred black and tan terriers.
Thumb nut, A nut for a screw, having wings to grasp between the thumb and fingers in turning it; also, a nut with a knurled rim for the same perpose.
Thumb ring, A ring worn on the thumb. -- Shak.
Thumb stall. (a) A kind of thimble or ferrule of iron, or leather, for protecting the thumb in making sails, and in other work.
Thumb stall. (b) (Mil.) A buckskin cushion worn on the thumb, and used to close the vent of a cannon while it is sponged, or loaded.
Under one's thumb, Completely under one's power or influence; in a condition of subservience. [Colloq.]
Thumbed (imp. & p. p.) of Thumb.
Thumbing (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Thumb.
Thumb (v. t.) To handle awkwardly. -- Johnson.
Thumb (v. t.) To play with the thumbs, or with the thumbs and fingers; as, to thumb over a tune.
Thumb (v. t.) To soil or wear with the thumb or the fingers; to soil, or wear out, by frequent handling; also, to cover with the thumb; as, to thumb the touch-hole of a cannon.
He gravely informed the enemy that all his cards had been thumbed to pieces, and begged them to let him have a few more packs. -- Macaulay.
Thumb (v. i.) To play with the thumb or thumbs; to play clumsily; to thrum.
Thumb (n.) The thick short innermost digit of the forelimb [syn: thumb, pollex].
Thumb (n.) The part of a glove that provides a covering for the thumb.
Thumb (n.) A convex molding having a cross section in the form of a quarter of a circle or of an ellipse [syn: ovolo, thumb, quarter round].
Thumb (v.) Travel by getting free rides from motorists [syn: hitchhike, hitch, thumb].
Thumb (v.) Look through a book or other written material; "He thumbed through the report"; "She leafed through the volume" [syn: flick, flip, thumb, riffle, leaf, riff].
Thumb (v.) Feel or handle with the fingers; "finger the binding of the book" [syn: finger, thumb].
Thumb (n.) The slider on a window-system scrollbar. So called because moving it allows you to browse through the contents of a text window in a way analogous to thumbing through a book.
Thumb, () An extension to the Advanced RISC Machine architecture, announced on 06 March 1995 by Advanced RISC Machines Ltd. By identifying the critical subset of the ARM instruction set and encoding it into 16 bits, ARM has succeeded in reducing typical program size by 30-40% from ARM's already excellent code density. Since this Thumb instruction set uses less memory for program storage, cost is further reduced.
All Thumb-aware processor cores combine the capability to execute both the 32-bit ARM and the 16-bit Thumb instruction sets. Careful design of the Thumb instructions allow them to be decompressed into full ARM instructions transparently during normal instruction decoding without any performance penalty. This differs from other 32-bit processors, like the Intel 486SX, with a 16-bit data bus, which require two 16-bit memory accesses to execute every 32-bit instruction and so halve performance.
The patented Thumb decompressor has been carefully designed with only a small amount of circuitry additional to the existing instruction decoder, so chip size and thus cost do not significantly increase. Designers can easily interleave fast ARM instructions (for performance critical parts of a program) with compact Thumb code to save memory. (1995-03-14)
Thumb, () The slider or "bubble" on a window system scrollbar. So called because moving it allows you to browse through the contents of a text window in a way analogous to thumbing through a book. [{Jargon File] (1995-03-14)
Thumb (n.) [ C ] (B1) 拇指 The short, thick finger on the side of your hand that makes it possible to hold and pick things up easily.
Idiom: All thumbs
All thumbs (US Informal) (UK All fingers and thumbs) 笨手笨腳 Very awkward with your hands.
// Can you untangle this thread for me? I'm all thumbs today.
Thumbs down (Informal) 拇指向下；不贊成，反對 Used to show disapproval of something.
// They gave our plan the thumbs down (= they have disagreed with our plan).
Thumbs up (Informal) 豎起大拇指；贊成，接受 Used to show approval of something.
// So it's the thumbs up for Brighton's latest nightclub.
Under sb's thumb在（某人的）支配下 Under someone's control.
// He's got the committee firmly under his thumb - they agree to whatever he asks.
Thumb (v.) Thumb a lift (UK informal) (US Thumb a ride) 豎起拇指要求免費搭車 To stand near the edge of a road and hold out your hand with the thumb raised as a signal for a vehicle to stop and take you somewhere.
// We thumbed a lift to London.
Thumb your nose at sb/ sth 對…嗤之以鼻，蔑視 To show no respect, or to raise the end of your thumb to the end of your nose to show that you do not respect someone.
// He has thumbed his nose at authority all his life.
Phrasal verb: Thumb through sth
Thumb through sth ( - Phrasal verb with Thumb) (v.) 匆匆翻閱，瀏覽 To turn the pages of a book, magazine, or a document quickly and only read small parts of it.
// "Have you read the report?" "Well, I thumbed through it quickly while I was eating breakfast."
Thumbbird (n.) The goldcrest. [Prov. Eng.]
Thumbed (a.) Having thumbs.
Thumbed (a.) Soiled by handling.
Thumbed (a.) (Of pages) Worn or soiled by thumb and fingers by frequent handling or turning; "well-thumbed pages of the dictionary."
Thumbkin (n.) An instrument of torture for compressing the thumb; a thumbscrew.
Thumbless (a.) Without a thumb. -- Darwin.
Thumbscrew (n.) A screw having a flat-sided or knurled head, so that it may be turned by the thumb and forefinger.
Thumbscrew (n.) An old instrument of torture for compressing the thumb by a screw; a thumbkin.
Thumbscrew (n.) Instrument of torture that crushes the thumb.
Thumbscrew (n.) Screw designed to be turned with the thumb and fingers.
Thummie (n.) The chiff-chaff. [Prov. Eng.]
Thummim (n. pl.) A mysterious part or decoration of the breastplate of the Jewish high priest. See the note under Urim.
Thummim, () Perfection (LXX., "truth;" Vulg., "veritas"), Ex. 28:30; Deut. 33:8; Judg. 1:1; 20:18; 1 Sam. 14:3,18; 23:9; 2 Sam. 21:1. What the "Urim and Thummim" were cannot be determined with any certainty. All we certainly know is that they were a certain divinely-given means by which God imparted, through the high priest, direction and counsel to Israel when these were needed.
The method by which this was done can be only a matter of mere conjecture. They were apparently material objects, quite distinct from the breastplate, but something added to it after all the stones had been set in it, something in addition to the breastplate and its jewels. They may have been, as some suppose, two small images, like the teraphim (comp. Judg. 17:5; 18:14, 17, 20; Hos. 3:4), which were kept in the bag of the breastplate, by which, in some unknown way, the high priest could give forth his divinely imparted decision when consulted.
They were probably lost at the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar. They were never seen after the return from captivity.
Thump (n.) The sound made by the sudden fall or blow of a heavy body, as of a hammer, or the like.
The distant forge's swinging thump profound. -- Wordsworth.
With heavy thump, a lifeless lump, They dropped down, one by one. -- Coleridge.
Thump (n.) A blow or knock, as with something blunt or heavy; a heavy fall.
The watchman gave so great a thump at my door, that I awaked at the knock. -- Tatler.