Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

thumb

2 verb
     
thumb2
1

thumb a lift

British English thumb a ride American English informalTTC to persuade a driver of a passing car to stop and take you somewhere, by putting your hand out with your thumb raised:
I thumbed a lift into town.
2

thumb your nose at somebody/something

to show that you do not respect rules, laws etc or you do not care what someone thinks of you:
a chance to thumb his nose at the college authorities

thumb through something

phrasal verb
to look through a book, magazine etc quickly:
I began thumbing through the pages of a gardening catalogue.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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