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3. thumb through

thumb through

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thumb through something

 and leaf through something

to look through a book, magazine, or newspaper, without reading it carefully. I've only thumbed through this book, but it looks very interesting. I leafed through a magazine while waiting to see the doctor.

See also: thumb

thumb through something

to quickly look at a pile of papers or the pages of a magazine or book Quinn thumbed through his messages until he found the slip with Ritter's phone number on it. Bella had to wait for Jill so she passed the time thumbing through magazines.

See also: thumb

thumb through

v.

To go through some reading material quickly or superficially, turning from page to page with or as if with the thumb: I thumbed through the directory for my dentist's phone number.

See also: thumb