Middle Finger Definition & Meaning

Definition

Usage

Etymology

Examples

middle finger American [mid-l fing-ger] / ˈmɪd l ˈfɪŋ gər /

noun

1. the finger between the forefinger and the third finger.

2. Slang. an obscene gesture of contempt made by pointing this finger upward while folding the other fingers against the palm; the finger.

   The driver honked his horn and got the middle finger from the biker.

Usage

What else does middle finger mean? Giving someone the middle finger is an offensive gesture in which a person flips up their middle finger in a fist to show contempt or defiance.

Etymology

Origin of middle finger

First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"The key to the wobble seam is to have your fingers and wrist right behind the ball and release the ball off your middle finger," Gillespie says.

From BBC

In 15 states and two provinces, we had no close calls, no one pulling behind and honking angrily, no one passing dangerously close and yelling “Get off the road,” not a single middle finger.

From The Wall Street Journal

The women said passersby offered them a mixture of “some middle fingers” and supportive honks as they held signs that read, among other things, “Would your grandma approve?”

From The Wall Street Journal

He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath and touches the forefinger and middle finger of his right hand to his lips.

From Salon

When he was 17, Iommi was working in a sheet metal factory when he lost the tips of his two middle fingers in an industrial accident.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.