fingerprint

Everyday

1. The pattern of tiny lines on the tip of each finger, or the mark it leaves on a surface. tree →
2. (verb) To take a record of someone's fingerprints, for example by the police. tree →
3. A special mark that shows who made something or where it came from. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons pupils study loops, whorls and arches and learn that every person's fingerprints are different. In detective stories fingerprints help to catch a thief. Phones can unlock with a fingerprint. Phrases: leave fingerprints, take fingerprints, fingerprint scanner, dust for fingerprints.

Examples

• The detective found fingerprints on the window. tree →
• No two people have the same fingerprints, not even twins. tree →
• I unlock my mum's tablet with my fingerprint. tree →
• Press your finger on the ink pad to make a fingerprint. tree →
• The police fingerprinted the suspect. tree →
• There are sticky fingerprints all over the fridge door! tree →

Note

Compound noun: finger + print. Identical twins share DNA but still have different fingerprints. Fingerprints form before birth and do not change as you grow, only get bigger.