finger

We use our fingers for so much. They help us hold things, type, point, count, and feel texture. The word "finger" usually means one of the long parts of the hand, but it can also be a verb. If you finger something, you touch or move it with your fingers, often in a careful or nervous way. It can also mean to identify someone as the person who did something wrong.

The word appears in a few common phrases too. We might say "cross your fingers" when we hope for good luck, or "put your finger on it" when we mean finding the exact cause or answer. There is also the rude gesture "give someone the finger." In clothing, a glove has separate parts for each finger.

The word "finger" usually refers to one of the five digits of the human hand. These parts help us hold, move, and control objects, feel surfaces, and communicate through touch and gesture. In everyday English, people often include the thumb when speaking generally about the hand, although in some contexts the thumb is treated separately from the other four fingers. We have fingers on our hands and toes on our feet.

As a verb, "finger" can mean to touch, handle, or move something with the fingers, often gently, repeatedly, or without much purpose. A person might finger a coin in their pocket or finger the pages of a book. It can also mean to identify or accuse someone, especially in crime stories or news reports, as in being fingered as the person responsible.

The word also appears in many familiar phrases. "Point the finger" means to blame someone. "Cross your fingers" expresses hope for good luck. If you can "put your finger on" a problem, you can name it exactly. Someone with "sticky fingers" is likely to steal, and a person with "green fingers" is good at gardening. A "fingerprint" is the mark left by the skin on the end of a finger and is often used for identification.

The word can also name things shaped like a finger or divided into finger-like parts, and it can refer to the separate parts of a glove that cover each digit. From everyday actions like texting and buttoning a shirt to set phrases and figurative uses, "finger" is a very common English word with both clear physical meaning and several useful extended meanings.