opposable thumb

collocation in English

meaningsofopposableandthumb

These words are often used together. Click on the links below to explore the meanings. Or,see other collocations withthumb.
opposable
adjective
uk
/əˈpəʊ.zə.bəl/us
/əˈpoʊ.zə.bəl/
Opposable thumbs are thumbs that can be put opposite the fingers of the same hand, so that objects can be picked up ...
See more atopposable
thumb
noun[C]
uk
/θʌm/us
/θʌm/
the short, thick finger on the side of your hand that makes it possible to hold and pick things ...
See more atthumb

(Definition ofopposableandthumbfrom theCambridge English Dictionary© Cambridge University Press)

Examplesofopposable thumb

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
He has sharpened canine teeth, and four clawed digits, including anopposablethumb, on each hand.
From
Wikipedia
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Longshot has only three fingers and anopposablethumbon each hand.
From
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Their hands end in three fingers and anopposablethumb, all with retractable claws.
From
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Humans, for example have qualitatively different capacities than many other mammals, due, in part, to theiropposablethumb.
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Treecats are hexapedal, meaning they have six limbs with hand-like paws, with three fingers and anopposablethumbon each hand-paw.
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Humans evolved anopposablethumbuseful in holding tools and increased dramatically in intelligence, which aided in the use of tools.
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Wastors with a primary arm module have their opposite arm equipped with a fully articulated hand with four fingers and anopposablethumb.
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Gorillas are more than camels with opposable thumbs.
From theCambridge English Corpus
From an evolutionary standpoint, upright bipedal ambulation, opposable thumbs and divided attention each are high order.
From theCambridge English Corpus
The presence of anopposablethumbis considered important for manipulation of most objects in the physical world.
From
Wikipedia
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His hands have a total of three digits, including anopposablethumb, though his other two non-pollical digits are much larger than those of the human.
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Wikipedia
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The raccoon's paws lack anopposablethumband thus it does not have the agility of the hands of primates.
From
Wikipedia
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Halfway along the edge of each wing is a hand with three human-sized fingers and anopposablethumb.
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Wikipedia
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The thumb is small enough to facilitate brachiation while maintaining some of the dexterity offered by anopposablethumb.
From
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From this standpoint, the evolutionarily advantaged functions of divided attention, upright bipedal ambulation and opposable thumbs can be seen as vulnerable.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Hominid anatomical features such as opposable thumbs, highly developed cortex, and vocal apparatus may have coevolved with increasing susceptibility to operant selection.
From theCambridge English Corpus
The index finger is vestigial, although it has opposable thumbs with which it grasps branches firmly.
From
Wikipedia
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Bats have opposable thumbs and are the only mammals capable of true flight.
From
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A reliable way of identifying and hands is from the presence of opposable thumbs.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
Want to learn more?
Go to the definition ofopposable
Go to the definition ofthumb
See other collocations withthumb