thumbs-up

[ thuhmz-uhp ]

noun

, Informal.

1. an act, instance, or gesture of assent, approval, or the like.

thumbs up

1. Expressions of approval and disapproval respectively: “The two critics disagreed about the movie; one gave it thumbs up, the other thumbs down.” In the gladiatorial contests of ancient Rome , a thumbs-up gesture from the crowd meant that the loser would live; thumbs down meant death.

Word History and Origins

Origin of thumbs-up¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Idioms and Phrases

An expression of approval or hopefulness, as in The town said thumbs up on building the elderly housing project . The antonym thumbs down indicates disapproval or rejection, as in Mother gave us thumbs down on serving beer at our party . Alluding to crowd signals used in Roman amphitheaters, these idioms were first recorded in English about 1600. In ancient times the meaning of the gestures was opposite that of today. Thumbs down indicated approval; thumbs up, rejection. Exactly when the reversal occurred is not known, but the present conventions were established by the early 1900s.

Example Sentences

By September, he was flashing a thumbs-up to assembled fans as he walked into court in a Barcelona suburb.

From The Daily Beast

And I just saw him as I was leaving and gave him the thumbs-up and he mouthed, “Thank you,” and that was it.

From The Daily Beast

His comical antics come to an end once the guard retreats to his box after giving his fellow guardsman a thumbs-up.

From The Daily Beast

Ebert gave James the proverbial two thumbs up, and the project was a go.

From The Daily Beast

When we nodded, she broke into a wide grin, gestured with two thumbs up, and finished off with a high-five.

From The Daily Beast

Mayor says thumbs up (to the breast) meant death and thumbs down meant Lower that sword.

From Project Gutenberg

He must hold himself ever in readiness to wiggle-waggle in the perpetual Simon-says-thumbs-up game which his crowd is playing.

From Project Gutenberg

If he calls out simply "Thumbs up" or "Thumbs down" no attention must be paid to this order as a forfeit is taken.

From Project Gutenberg

He is the market; he makes the price by the simple process of "thumbs up" or "thumbs down."

From Project Gutenberg

Nelda was at the wheel, and Gladys, beside her on the front seat, raised a white-gloved hand in the thumbs-up salute.

From Project Gutenberg