How to Pronounce Thumb

To pronounce "thumb", say THUMB — one syllable, IPA /θʌm/. Tap play below to hear it in four English accents, or practice it syllable by syllable.

thumb

Tap to hear · American accent

Accent

If an accent sounds the same, your device is missing that voice — it falls back to the closest one.

Speed

Practice: Record & Compare

Record yourself saying thumb, then compare with the target. Your audio stays on this device — nothing is uploaded.

Syllable

Letters

/θʌm/

IPA

"thumb" is a single-syllable word — say it in one clean beat. It rhymes with thrum and glum, if that helps it stick.

Sounds exactly like: thumm, thum — easy to mix up when writing.

noun

The short thick 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.
The part of a slider that may be moved linearly along the slider.

verb

To touch or cover with the thumb.
“to thumb the touch-hole of a cannon”
(with through) To turn the pages of (a book) in order to read it cursorily.
“I thumbed through the book and decided not to bother reading it all.”

Real example sentences from Tatoeba (CC-BY) — tap to hear each one, or see it used on YouGlish.

Practicing rhymes trains the same ending sounds.

How many syllables are in "thumb"?▾

"Thumb" has one syllable.

What is the IPA transcription of "thumb"?▾

The IPA transcription of "thumb" is /θʌm/.

What does "thumb" mean?▾

Thumb: The short thick 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.

Want the definition, translations into 8 languages, and read-aloud for full sentences?