Finger Definition: Meaning, Uses, and Practice Examples

Discover how you can make use of this word in sentences to create various meaningful expressions.

There are not so many words that reflect the meaning of the “finger,” but they still exist, so you can learn more about them and enrich your spoken and written English.

Related nouns: thumb knuckle nail

Synonyms (contextual): phalanx pointer appendage

Common collocations: point a finger lift a finger snap fingers

Take a closer look at how you can combine this word with other parts of speech in order to create new, interesting constructions and empower your language understanding.

With adjectives: long finger index finger nimble fingers delicate fingers

With verbs: tap fingers cross fingers lick fingers bend a finger

With nouns (noun + noun): finger nail finger tip finger ring finger hold

What does “finger” mean? You can answer this question already, but what if we ask you to explain the different idiomatic meanings of this word in various contexts?

• Have a finger in every pie — This means being involved in multiple activities, projects, or businesses simultaneously, often more than one should be.

  Sarah has a finger in every pie at the company; she manages marketing, oversees design and even checks the accounts.

• Point the finger at — To blame or accuse someone for something, often implying responsibility for a mistake or problem.

    When the project failed, everyone pointed the finger at Mark, even though it was a team effort.

• Burn one’s fingers — This implies suffering a loss or getting into trouble as a result of taking a risk or making a mistake.

    Tom invested in that startup and really burned his fingers when it went bankrupt within months.

Define a finger by completing our intellectual game, through which you will learn a lot of new information, broaden your horizons and have some fun.

Look at how to spell “finger” and how to pronounce it in other widely used European languages to surprise your family and friends with your knowledge.

The definition of “finger” may seem very simple and understandable and it truly is, but have you ever thought about how strong they are or how your gentle touches can change your perception of the world?

• Each finger has its own unique fingerprint pattern

  No two people in the world have the exact same fingerprints, not even identical twins. These patterns are produced before birth and remain permanent throughout life. Fingerprints are used for identification because of their incredible uniqueness.

• Fingers can sense tiny differences in texture

  The skin on the fingertips contains various types of nerve endings known as mechanoreceptors. These allow you to register the smoothness and roughness of surfaces with varying degrees, from as smooth as glass to as rough as sandpaper. This sensitivity helps humans perform delicate tasks like writing or threading a needle, showing that sometimes it’s the little things that make all the difference.

• Fingers are stronger than you think

  Despite their small size, fingers can exert huge amounts of force, with the thumb alone contributing to 50% of the gripping power of the hand. Such strength allows us to lift, hold, or manipulate objects with delicate precision, proving that big things can come in small packages.

• Fingers can heal quickly, but scars easily

  Fingers are commonly claimed to heal fast because of the blood supply. However, the skin is delicate and therefore, it scars quite easily. This combination makes fingers resilient yet prone to visible marks, reminding us of physical activities we’ve participated in.

• Fingers can perform tiny, independent movements

  Each finger has multiple joints, muscle-powered from within the hand and forearm, giving them the liberty to bend, rotate, or move in synchrony or individually. Such movements are key in playing a musical instrument, typing, or drawing, showing that many hands make light work, even at a micro level.

We can see the word “finger” not only in idioms but also as a part of well-known quotations and today we will take a look at some of them.

— Elvis Presley

Explanation: He’s describing his natural and expressive movements to music. Instead of hooking on one rhythmic gesture, he combines all of them to demonstrate spontaneity and freedom of expression. This behavior became part of his charm as a supreme entertainer and proved that he really danced to the beat of his drum.

— Louis Nizer

Explanation: This is a warning about self-awareness and accountability. In blaming others, people tend to ignore their role in it. Here, the four fingers analogy is intended to explain that the finger pointing usually reflects more about the accuser than it does about the accused.

— James Cash Penney

Explanation: Here, the hand is used as a metaphor for teamwork. The individual members, or fingers, can act in isolation, but joined together as a fist, they exert much greater power, a witness to the strength of organization and unity.

— Isaac Asimov

Explanation: Writing is a very direct extension of thinking for him. When his fingers are on the keyboard or the pen is in his hand, his thoughts are being channeled, showing how the physical act of writing is intertwined with the mental one, letting him put words on paper effortlessly.

— Jane Kaczmarek

Explanation: She is humorously describing her view of a perfect lazy day: “Not lifting a finger” is just another way of saying “doing nothing.” There comes a time when doing nothing is all you want to do.