Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The technique used in playing a musical instrument with the fingers.
  • noun The indication on a musical score of which fingers are to be used in playing.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of touching lightly or handling.
  • noun Beckoning with the finger.
  • noun In music: The method of using the fingers upon a fingered instrument, especially so as to produce given effects in the best way.
  • noun An indication by figures, upon a piece of music, of the fingers to be used in its performance.
  • noun Delicate work done with the fingers.
  • noun A thick, loose woolen yarn used for knitting stockings, etc.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act or process of handling or touching with the fingers.
  • noun The manner of using the fingers in playing or striking the keys of an instrument of music; movement or management of the fingers in playing on a musical instrument, in typewriting, etc.
  • noun The marking of the notes of a piece of music to guide or regulate the action or use of the fingers.
  • noun Delicate work made with the fingers.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun music (uncountable) The act of using one's fingers in the playing of a musical instrument.
  • noun music (countable) A specific method of using the fingers to play an instrument.
  • noun uncountable The act of using the fingers to penetrate and sexually stimulate one's own or another person's vagina or anus.
  • verb Present participle of finger.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the placement of the fingers for playing different notes (or sequences of notes) on a musical instrument
  • noun touching something with the fingers

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • His innovations in fingering, his use of the pedals, and his general treatment of the keyboard were hightly influential.

    Five People Born on March 1 | myFiveBest 2010

  • Ishbel in fingering (Malabrigo Sock Indiecita) or DK (Manos Silk Blend Hibiscus)?

    Kiss me 2009

  • Ishbel in fingering (Malabrigo Sock Indiecita) or DK (Manos Silk Blend Hibiscus)?

    Archive 2009-06-01 2009

  • Now, don’t get me wrong: It is typically entertaining Noro yarn, ranging (in fingering weight) from bloated, impertinent tufts of roving to stuff as skinny as super-fine dental floss.

    ...in which she fails (but also succeeds) 2009

  • Now, don’t get me wrong: It is typically entertaining Noro yarn, ranging (in fingering weight) from bloated, impertinent tufts of roving to stuff as skinny as super-fine dental floss.

    Archive 2009-06-01 2009

  • Other wheels, consisting of a simple disk of iron, not unlike a circular saw without any teeth, were used for cutting those narrow vertical lines, technically known as fingering, familiar to those so happy as to have had careful grandmothers, and to have inherited their decanters and wine-glasses.

    The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 83, September, 1864 Various

  • The author of the Requiem would have lost none of his good qualities, but he might have gained, what, for the lack of a better phrase, is called the fingering of the voice, the art of handling it intelligently and making it give without an effort the best effect of which it is capable.

    Musical Memories Saint-Saens, Camille 1919

  • The author of the _Requiem_ would have lost none of his good qualities, but he might have gained, what, for the lack of a better phrase, is called the fingering of the voice, the art of handling it intelligently and making it give without an effort the best effect of which it is capable.

    Musical Memories Camille Saint-Sa��ns 1878

  • In the coming days, expect robocalls fingering Brown as an escaped Serbian war criminal or John Doe number two.

    Reason Magazine 2010

  • The iPhone has a whole host of mother-friendly games, whether she's already an avid game hoarder or if she turns her nose up at the idea of fingering a D-pad.

    Pocket Gamer | www.pocketgamer.co.uk | Latest additions 2009

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