Word.ws English Dictionary

two thumbs up

two thumbs up noun: strong approval.

Noun

two thumbs up

  1. (idiomatic) Strong approval.
  2. (dated) A hand gesture indicating strong approval.
    • Two thumbs up means everything on time and perfect.1935 July 7, “GLOSSARY OF RADIO'S NEW TERMS COMPILED”, in Los Angeles Times
    • As he walked out of the court house, he showed two thumbs up and reached in his pocket to display his registration slip to some 30 other Negroes1963 October 18, “Three More Negroes Register To Vote In Louisiana Town”, in Toledo Blade

Origin of two thumbs up

American film critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel co-hosted a movie review program, At the Movies. The two had different tastes, and often verbally sparred and traded humorous barbs. When both critics gave the film a thumbs up, it was assumed that the film was very good.

Questions about two thumbs up

What does two thumbs up mean?
Two thumbs up means strong approval.
What part of speech is two thumbs up?
Two thumbs up is a noun.

Words near two thumbs up in the dictionary

  1. two tears in a bucket
  2. two thirds
  3. two thousand
  4. two thousand and late
  5. two thousands
  6. two thumbs up
  7. two times
  8. two touch
  9. two twos
  10. two up
  11. two upon ten

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: two thumbs up (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.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-two thumbs up.ogg.

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