Meanings
nounthumbnail (plural thumbnails)
plural thumbnails
- The fingernail on the thumb.
- A rough sketch (e.g., the size of one's thumbnail).
- computingA small picture, used as a compact representation of a larger image.
- social mediaA small picture representing a post or a video in a list.
verbthumbnail (third-person singular simple present thumbnails, present participle thumbnailing, simple past and past participle thumbnailed)
present singular third person thumbnails · participle present thumbnailing · participle past thumbnailed · past thumbnailed
- transitiveTo describe concisely.
- transitivecomputingTo create a smaller representation of (a larger image).
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Origin
From thumb + nail. Compare West Frisian tommeneil (“thumbnail”), Dutch duimnagel (“thumbnail”), German Daumennagel (“thumbnail”). The phrase thumbnail sketch was first attested 1852. Verb sense attested 1930s.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian нокът на палеца
- нокът на палеца (nokăt na paleca)fingernail on the thumb
Chinese Mandarin 拇指指甲, 粗略草圖 /粗略草图
- 拇指指甲 (mǔzhǐzhǐjiǎ)fingernail on the thumb
- 粗略草圖 /粗略草图rough sketch
- 縮略圖 /缩略图 (suōlüètú)chiefly computing: small picture
- 簡要描述 /简要描述describe concisely
Czech nehet na palci, miniatura
- nehet na palcifingernail on the thumb
- miniaturachiefly computing: small picture
- náhledchiefly computing: small picture
Danish tommelfingernegl, skitse
- tommelfingerneglfingernail on the thumb
- skitserough sketch
- frimærkechiefly computing: small picture
- miniaturebilledechiefly computing: small picture
Dutch duimnagel
- duimnagelfingernail on the thumb
Esperanto bildeto, miniaturo
- bildetochiefly computing: small picture
- miniaturochiefly computing: small picture
Estonian visand, pisipilt
- visandrough sketch
- pisipiltchiefly computing: small picture
Finnish peukalonkynsi, raakaluonnos
- peukalonkynsifingernail on the thumb
- raakaluonnosrough sketch
- pienoiskuvachiefly computing: small picture
- pikkukuvachiefly computing: small picture
- esikatselukuvachiefly computing: small picture
- selailukuvachiefly computing: small picture
- kuvata lyhyestidescribe concisely
French ongle du pouce, croquis
- ongle du poucefingernail on the thumb
- croquisrough sketch
- aperçuchiefly computing: small picture
- vignettechiefly computing: small picture
- miniaturechiefly computing: small picture
German Daumennagel, Vorschaubild
- Daumennagelfingernail on the thumb
- Vorschaubildchiefly computing: small picture
- Thumbnailchiefly computing: small picture
- Bildvorschauchiefly computing: small picture
- Miniaturbildchiefly computing: small picture
Hungarian indexkép, nézőkép
- indexképchiefly computing: small picture
- nézőképchiefly computing: small picture
- miniatűrchiefly computing: small picture
- miniatűrképchiefly computing: small picture
- bélyegképchiefly computing: small picture
Indonesian miniatur, gambar kecil
- miniaturchiefly computing: small picture
- gambar kecilchiefly computing: small picture
- gambar minichiefly computing: small picture
- kelukuchiefly computing: small picture
Irish ionga ordóige
- ionga ordóigefingernail on the thumb
Italian anteprima, miniatura
- anteprimachiefly computing: small picture
- miniaturachiefly computing: small picture
Japanese 親指の爪, サムネイル
- 親指の爪 (oyayubi no tsume)fingernail on the thumb
- サムネイル (samuneiru)chiefly computing: small picture
Korean 엄지손톱, 섬네일
- 엄지손톱 (eomjisontop)fingernail on the thumb
- 섬네일 (seomneil)chiefly computing: small picture
Latvian sīktēls, miniatūra
- sīktēlschiefly computing: small picture
- miniatūrachiefly computing: small picture
Norwegian miniatyrbilde
- miniatyrbildechiefly computing: small picture
Polish paznokieć kciuka, szkic
- paznokieć kciukafingernail on the thumb
- szkicrough sketch
- miniaturachiefly computing: small picture
- opisywać zwięźledescribe concisely
- opisać zwięźledescribe concisely
Portuguese unha do polegar, esboço
- unha do polegarfingernail on the thumb
- esboçorough sketch
- miniaturachiefly computing: small picture
- thumbnailchiefly computing: small picture
- bosquejardescribe concisely
- esboçardescribe concisely
- esquissardescribe concisely
Romanian miniatură
- miniaturăchiefly computing: small picture
Russian но́готь большо́го па́льца, набро́сок
- но́готь большо́го па́льца (nógotʹ bolʹšóvo pálʹca)fingernail on the thumb
- набро́сок (nabrósok)rough sketch
- эски́з (eskíz)rough sketch
- миниатю́ра (miniatjúra)chiefly computing: small picture
- карти́нка (kartínka)chiefly computing: small picture
- превью (prevʹju)chiefly computing: small picture
Slovak miniatúra, náhľad
- miniatúrachiefly computing: small picture
- náhľadchiefly computing: small picture
Spanish uña del pulgar, uña de pólice
- uña del pulgarfingernail on the thumb
- uña de pólicefingernail on the thumb
- miniaturachiefly computing: small picture
- pormenorizardescribe concisely
Swedish tumnagel
- tumnagelfingernail on the thumb
Tagalog panhinlalaki
- panhinlalakichiefly computing: small picture
Thai ภาพขนาดย่อ, รูปขนาดย่อ
- ภาพขนาดย่อchiefly computing: small picture
- รูปขนาดย่อchiefly computing: small picture
Ukrainian мініатю́ра, карти́нка
- мініатю́ра (miniatjúra)chiefly computing: small picture
- карти́нка (kartýnka)chiefly computing: small picture
Vietnamese móng ngón tay cái, hình nhỏ
- móng ngón tay cáifingernail on the thumb
- hình nhỏchiefly computing: small picture
Welsh byrgofiant, mân-lun
- byrgofiantrough sketch
- mân-lunchiefly computing: small picture
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with thumbnail
emailmailretailscaledetailfailtrailtailtaledalejailyalepalegalesailavailbailvalealeGailhalehailvailveil
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
thumbnail. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thumbnail
MLA
“thumbnail.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thumbnail. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “thumbnail,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thumbnail.
Source: thumbnail on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.