Word.ws English Dictionary

thumbs-down

thumbs-down is the alternative form of thumbs down.

Meaning of thumbs down

Noun

thumbs down (plural thumbs downs or thumbs down)

  1. A gesture signifying disapproval; a thumb pointing down out of a fist.
    • He shook his head and gave a thumbs down.
    Antonyms:
    thumbs up
  2. (figuratively) A rejection or refusal.
    • We requested permission but got a thumbs down.
    Antonyms:
    thumbs up

Verb

thumbs-down (third-person singular simple present thumbs-downs, present participle thumbs-downing, simple past and past participle thumbs-downed)

  1. (transitive) To disapprove with a thumbs-down sign.
    • He stood outside the dressing room and thumbs-upped or thumbs-downed each choice.2015, Anne Wagener, Borrow-A-Bridesmaid
    Antonyms:
    thumbs-up

Antonyms of thumbs-down

Forms of thumbs-down

Noun
pluralthumbs-downs
pluralthumbs-down
Verb
third-person singular presentthumbs-downs
present participlethumbs-downing
past participlethumbs-downed
pastthumbs-downed

Questions about thumbs-down

What does thumbs-down mean?
Thumbs-down means to disapprove with a thumbs-down sign.
What is thumbs-down the alternative form of?
Thumbs-down is the alternative form of thumbs down.
What part of speech is thumbs-down?
Thumbs-down is a verb.
What is the past tense of thumbs-down?
The past tense of thumbs-down is thumbs-downed.

Words near thumbs-down in the dictionary

  1. thumbs one's nose
  2. thumbs through
  3. thumbs up
  4. thumbs up, seven up
  5. thumbs ups
  6. thumbs-down
  7. thumbs-downed
  8. thumbs-downing
  9. thumbs-downs
  10. thumbs-up
  11. thumbs-upped

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: thumbs-down (page history and authors); thumbs down (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “thumbs-down.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/thumbs-down. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.