thumb·screw

(thŭm′skro͞o′)

1. A screw designed so that it can be turned with the thumb and fingers.

2. An instrument of torture formerly used to compress the thumb.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

thumbscrew

(ˈθʌmˌskruː)

1. (Historical Terms) an instrument of torture that pinches or crushes the thumbs

2. (Tools) a screw with projections on its head enabling it to be turned by the thumb and forefinger

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

thumb•screw

(ˈθʌmˌskru)

n.

1. a screw having a flat head that may be turned easily with the thumb and forefinger.

2. an old instrument of torture by which one or both thumbs were compressed.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	thumbscrew - instrument of torture that crushes the thumb instrument of torture - an instrument of punishment designed and used to inflict torture on the condemned person
	2.	thumbscrew - screw designed to be turned with the thumb and fingers screw - a fastener with a tapered threaded shank and a slotted head

Translations

schiacciapollici serrapollici

thumbscrew

[ˈθʌmskruː] N → empulgueras fpl

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

thumbscrew

thumb screw [ˈθʌmskruː] n (= torture device) → poucettes fpl
to put the thumbscrews on sb (= put under extreme pressure) → mettre à qn le couteau sous la gorge

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

thumbscrew

[ˈθʌmˌskruː] n (instrument of torture) strumento di tortura con cui si schiacciano i pollici (Tech) → vite f con testa ad alette

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

On the contrary, the speeding-up seemed to be growing more savage all the time; they were continually inventing new devices to crowd the work on--it was for all the world like the thumbscrew of the medieval torture chamber.

View in context

The age of thumbscrews and the rack was, after all, a very virile age.

View in context

My dear Clara, have you lost your senses that you can for a moment dream of putting a growing girl into an instrument of torture like this?" and with a sudden gesture he plucked forth the offending corsets from under the sofa cushion, and held them out with the expression one would wear on beholding the thumbscrews or the rack of ancient times.

View in context

Many, many parents, these days (thanks to the Government's austerity thumbscrew), cannot afford bespoke uniforms at hundreds of pounds a time, so could the 'plain' ones offered by major supermarkets, usually the whole uniform for PS5-PS10, with the school sourcing unique ties and badges to complete the outfit, suffice?

Cut cost of uniforms

Caption: The stock is easily removed by turning a thumbscrew on the right side and pushing in to disengage a block that fits into slotted "feet" at the front of the buffer tube.

PENNY PINCHER

And on Wednesday Mr Osborne will set out his first package of thumbscrew measures which aren't impeded by the restraints of coalition.

Osborne's dream is a nightmare; VOICE OF THE

By turning the thumbscrew, the end inside will accommodate various cob sizes.

The challenge of implement restoration

She makes a face like she is turning a thumbscrew but the thumbscrew is her face.

Lemonade

For FMs the solution to the perennial budgeting problem may lie outside the budget numbers themselves, although they can surely try to come up with historical facility data demonstrating the cost of deferred maintenance and the thumbscrew of unfunded fixes in the middle of a budget year.

A budgeting trick of the eye

Each screen has hooks and a thumbscrew and locknut to secure it to the fan shroud.

Screen off finger injuries