Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [thuhm-skroo]
- /ˈθʌmˌskru/
- /ˈθʌm.skruː/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
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- [thuhm-skroo]
- /ˈθʌmˌskru/
Definitions of thumbscrew word
- noun thumbscrew a screw, the head of which is so constructed that it may be turned easily with the thumb and a finger. 1
- noun thumbscrew Often, thumbscrews. an old instrument of torture by which one or both thumbs were compressed. 1
- noun thumbscrew torture device 1
- countable noun thumbscrew A thumbscrew is an object that was used in the past to torture people by crushing their thumbs. 0
- countable noun thumbscrew If someone puts the thumbscrews on you, they start to put you under extreme pressure in order to force you to do something. 0
- noun thumbscrew an instrument of torture that pinches or crushes the thumbs 0
Information block about the term
Origin of thumbscrew
First appearance:
before 1705 One of the 50% oldest English words
First recorded in 1705-15; thumb + screw
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Thumbscrew
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
thumbscrew popularity
A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 50% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
According to our data about 61% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.
thumbscrew usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerTop questions with thumbscrew
- what is a thumbscrew?
See also
Matching words
- Words starting with t
- Words starting with th
- Words starting with thu
- Words starting with thum
- Words starting with thumb
- Words starting with thumbs
- Words starting with thumbsc
- Words starting with thumbscr
- Words starting with thumbscre
- Words starting with thumbscrew