"thumbs down" meaning in English

See thumbs down in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Forms: thumbs downs [plural], thumbs down [plural], thumbs-down [alternative], thumb down [alternative, rare]
Etymology: See thumbs up. Head templates: {{en-noun|s|*}} thumbs down (plural thumbs downs or thumbs down)
  1. A gesture signifying disapproval; a thumb pointing down out of a fist. Derived forms: thumbs-down [verb]
    Sense id: en-thumbs_down-en-noun-s2U3bvM8
  2. A rejection or refusal.
    Sense id: en-thumbs_down-en-noun-ewgbM5Hs

Verb

Forms: thumbs-down [alternative], thumb down [alternative, rare]
Etymology: See thumbs up. Head templates: {{head|en|verb form}} thumbs down
  1. third-person singular simple present indicative of thumb down Tags: form-of, indicative, present, singular, third-person Form of: thumb down
    Sense id: en-thumbs_down-en-verb-6VkExwRD Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English links with manual fragments, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 10 11 79 Disambiguation of English links with manual fragments: 20 9 71 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 5 2 93 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 5 2 93

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "word": "thumbs up"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "See thumbs up.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "thumbs downs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "thumbs down",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "thumbs-down",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "thumb down",
      "tags": [
        "alternative",
        "rare"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "s",
        "2": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "thumbs down (plural thumbs downs or thumbs down)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "derived": [
        {
          "_dis1": "94 6",
          "tags": [
            "verb"
          ],
          "word": "thumbs-down"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              29,
              40
            ]
          ],
          "text": "He shook his head and gave a thumbs down.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A gesture signifying disapproval; a thumb pointing down out of a fist."
      ],
      "id": "en-thumbs_down-en-noun-s2U3bvM8",
      "links": [
        [
          "gesture",
          "gesture"
        ],
        [
          "thumb",
          "thumb"
        ],
        [
          "fist",
          "fist"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              34,
              45
            ]
          ],
          "text": "We requested permission but got a thumbs down.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              323,
              334
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2021 March 8, Jane E. Brody, “Medical Marijuana Is Not Regulated as Most Medicines Are”, in The New York Times:",
          "text": "Indeed, THC does lower damaging pressure inside the eye, but as Drs. Finny T. John and Jean R. Hausheer […] wrote, “to achieve therapeutic levels of marijuana in the bloodstream to treat glaucoma, an individual would need to smoke approximately six to eight times a day,” […]. The major eye care medical societies have put thumbs down on marijuana to treat glaucoma.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A rejection or refusal."
      ],
      "id": "en-thumbs_down-en-noun-ewgbM5Hs",
      "links": [
        [
          "rejection",
          "rejection"
        ],
        [
          "refusal",
          "refusal"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "thumbs down"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "See thumbs up.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "thumbs-down",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "thumb down",
      "tags": [
        "alternative",
        "rare"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "verb form"
      },
      "expansion": "thumbs down",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "10 11 79",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "20 9 71",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English links with manual fragments",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "5 2 93",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "5 2 93",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "form_of": [
        {
          "word": "thumb down"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "third-person singular simple present indicative of thumb down"
      ],
      "id": "en-thumbs_down-en-verb-6VkExwRD",
      "links": [
        [
          "thumb down",
          "thumb down#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "form-of",
        "indicative",
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "thumbs down"
}
{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "word": "thumbs up"
    }
  ],
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English links with manual fragments",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English non-lemma forms",
    "English nouns",
    "English verb forms",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "tags": [
        "verb"
      ],
      "word": "thumbs-down"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "See thumbs up.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "thumbs downs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "thumbs down",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "thumbs-down",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "thumb down",
      "tags": [
        "alternative",
        "rare"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "s",
        "2": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "thumbs down (plural thumbs downs or thumbs down)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              29,
              40
            ]
          ],
          "text": "He shook his head and gave a thumbs down.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A gesture signifying disapproval; a thumb pointing down out of a fist."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "gesture",
          "gesture"
        ],
        [
          "thumb",
          "thumb"
        ],
        [
          "fist",
          "fist"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              34,
              45
            ]
          ],
          "text": "We requested permission but got a thumbs down.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              323,
              334
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2021 March 8, Jane E. Brody, “Medical Marijuana Is Not Regulated as Most Medicines Are”, in The New York Times:",
          "text": "Indeed, THC does lower damaging pressure inside the eye, but as Drs. Finny T. John and Jean R. Hausheer […] wrote, “to achieve therapeutic levels of marijuana in the bloodstream to treat glaucoma, an individual would need to smoke approximately six to eight times a day,” […]. The major eye care medical societies have put thumbs down on marijuana to treat glaucoma.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A rejection or refusal."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "rejection",
          "rejection"
        ],
        [
          "refusal",
          "refusal"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "thumbs down"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English links with manual fragments",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English non-lemma forms",
    "English nouns",
    "English verb forms",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "etymology_text": "See thumbs up.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "thumbs-down",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "thumb down",
      "tags": [
        "alternative",
        "rare"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "verb form"
      },
      "expansion": "thumbs down",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "form_of": [
        {
          "word": "thumb down"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "third-person singular simple present indicative of thumb down"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "thumb down",
          "thumb down#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "form-of",
        "indicative",
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "thumbs down"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-03-25 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-03-03 using wiktextract (05c257f and 9d9a410). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.