fingerbreit
German, adjective
fingerbreit is spelled F-I-N-G-E-R-B-R-E-I-T (11 letters) and appears about once in every 7 million words in written German, the 142,439th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Fingerbreit is a German adjective meaning “by or of a fingerbreadth/fingersbreadth; finger-wide, (as) wide as a finger” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Fingerbreit is a different word: “A (usually approximate and informal) unit of measurement based upon…”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “in/von der (ungefähren) Breite eines Fingers”.
What does fingerbreit mean in English?
adjective
- 1
by or of a fingerbreadth/fingersbreadth; finger-wide, (as) wide as a finger
ein fingerbreiter Spalt; fingerbreit auseinanderklaffen
noun
- 1
masculineA (usually approximate and informal) unit of measurement based upon the radial width of the human finger; fingerbreadth/fingersbreadth/finger’s-breadth, (by extension, figurative) inch
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
noun: 1. als (informelle) Maßeinheit verwendete (ungefähre) Angabe einer Fingerbreite; ungefähre Breite eines Fingers
adjective: 1. in/von der (ungefähren) Breite eines Fingers
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of fingerbreit
- Finger breit alternative
- fingerbreiter masculine nominative singular
- fingerbreite feminine nominative singular
- fingerbreites neuter nominative singular
- fingerbreiten genitive masculine singular
- fingerbreitem dative masculine singular
- der fingerbreite definite includes-article masculine
- die fingerbreite definite feminine includes-article
- das fingerbreite definite includes-article neuter
- die fingerbreiten definite includes-article nominative
- des fingerbreiten definite genitive includes-article
- der fingerbreiten definite feminine genitive
- dem fingerbreiten dative definite includes-article
- den fingerbreiten dative definite includes-article
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How common is fingerbreit in German?
fingerbreit appears about once in every 7 million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).