thumb

/θʌm/

//θʌm// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"thumb" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“thumb” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,071. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,071
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
17
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The shortest and thickest digit of the hand that for humans has the most mobility and can be made to oppose (moved to touch) all of the other fingers.

Corpus desk

Index EN-thumb · thumb · English

thumb · rank #7,071 · 8 variants · 17 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,071
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 17 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH theoretical

Nearest frequency peer: theoretical (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “thumb”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “thumb” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

thumb vs tub
60% similar
thumb vs tum
60% similar
thumb vs thus
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for thumb
PropertyValue
Headwordthumb
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/θʌm/
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,071
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs17
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “thumb”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).thumblands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “theoretical” (#7,070), “timber” (#7,072), “transparent” (#7,073). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “thumb” is #7,071. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around thumb (IPA /θʌm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,071 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for thumb, with forms such as "htumb", "thhumb", and "thmub". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 17 confusable-pair relationships, "tub", "tum", "thus", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Derived from Middle English thombe, thoume, thoumbe (“thumb”), from Old English þūma (“thumb”), from Proto-West Germanic *þūmō (“thumb”), from Proto-Germanic *þūmô (“thumb”), from Proto-Indo-European *tūm- (“to grow”). Cognate with West Frisian tomme (“thum… The correct English form is thumb, spelled T-H-U-M-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    The shortest and thickest digit of the hand that for humans has the most mobility and can be made to oppose (moved to touch) all of the other fingers.
  2. 2
    The part of a slider that may be moved linearly along the slider.
  3. 3
    A thumbnail picture.
  4. 4
    A top hatch plate for covering an excavator bucket, used to keep material in the digger bucket after scooping it up, and not letting it spill out.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how thumb appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. a scroll-bar thumb

Etymology

Derived from Middle English thombe, thoume, thoumbe (“thumb”), from Old English þūma (“thumb”), from Proto-West Germanic *þūmō (“thumb”), from Proto-Germanic *þūmô (“thumb”), from Proto-Indo-European *tūm- (“to grow”). Cognate with West Frisian tomme (“thumb”), Dutch duim (“thumb”), Low German Duum (“thumb”), German Daumen (“thumb”), Danish and Norwegian tomme (“inch”), Norn tum (“thumb”), Swedish tumme (“thumb”), tum (“inch”), Ancient Greek τύμβος (túmbos, “burial mound”). Also compare Welsh tyfu (“to grow”), Latin tumēre (“to swell”), Lithuanian tumėti (“to thicken, clot”), Avestan 𐬀𐬨𐬏𐬙 (amūt, “strong”), Sanskrit तुम्र (túmra, “strong, thick”). The parasitic ‐b has existed since the late 13th century. Doublet of tomb.

Synonyms

pollexdigit Ifirst digitthumby

This word in other languages

pulgar(Español)pouce(Français)Daumen(Deutsch)polegar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • htumb
  • thhumb
  • thmub
  • thubm
  • thumbb
  • thummb
  • tthumb
  • tuhmb

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of thumb - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

htumb2thhumb1thmub2thubm2thumbb1thummb1tthumb1tuhmb2
Edit distance from "thumb"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "thumb"?
"thumb" is spelled T-H-U-M-B. The IPA pronunciation is /θʌm/.
What does "thumb" mean?
As a noun, "thumb" means: The shortest and thickest digit of the hand that for humans has the most mobility and can be made to oppose (moved to touch) all of the other fingers.
What words are commonly confused with "thumb"?
"thumb" is commonly confused with "tub", "tum", "thus". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "thumb"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "thumb" is /θʌm/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "thumb"?
Derived from Middle English thombe, thoume, thoumbe (“thumb”), from Old English þūma (“thumb”), from Proto-West Germanic *þūmō (“thumb”), from Proto-Germanic *þūmô (“thumb”), from Proto-Indo-European *tūm- (“to grow”). Cognate with West Frisian to... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "thumb", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

stark#7,065urged#7,079sheer#7,060wheat#7,084

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

timber8 variantsupside8 variantswrist8 variantsabused8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list