thimble

noun

1. A pitted, now usually metal, cup-shaped cap worn on the tip of a finger, which is used in sewing to push the needle through material.

   “She had worn a hole through her silver thimble, and wanted Owen to repair it.”

2. As much as fills a thimble (sense 1); a thimbleful.
3. (also, attributive)An object which resembles a thimble (sense 1) in shape or size.
4. (also, attributive)An object which resembles a thimble (sense 1) in shape or size.
5. A metal ring which a cable or rope intended for attaching to other things is looped around as a protection against chafing.

   “To relieve the stern in a measure from the great weight of the [diving-]bell, a short, strong mast was stepped in the usual place, and steeving forward; from its head to the head of the davit was a span, which set up with two thimbles [footnote: A sort of iron ring.] and a lanyard, and the whole was supported by a strong stay from the mast-head to the stern of the boat, and two shrouds on a side, leading forward.”

   “The rope part is fitted with a thimble in one end, which is connected to the chain by means of a shackle; the other extremity is spliced around a heart, and goes with a laniard, as in the case of bobstays. The splice of the thimble and the heart should be served.”

6. A ring- or tube-shaped component such as a ferrule.

verb

1. (intransitive)To use a thimble (noun sense 1).
2. (broadly, intransitive)To sew.