put one's finger on
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Identify or pinpoint something precisely
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Xác định hoặc chỉ ra điều gì đó một cách chính xác
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: touch something with one's finger
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
She couldn't put her finger on what was bothering her
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “put one's finger on” mean?
Identify or pinpoint something precisely Literally: touch something with one's finger
Is “put one's finger on” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.