comb

¹

[kohm]

noun

1. a toothed strip of plastic, hard rubber, bone, wood, or metal, used for arranging the hair, untangling it, or holding it in place.

2. a currycomb.

3. any comblike instrument, object, or formation.

4. the fleshy, more or less serrated outgrowth on the head of certain gallinaceous birds, especially the domestic fowl.

5. something resembling or suggesting this, as the crest of a wave.

6. a honeycomb, or any similar group of cells.

7. a machine for separating choice cotton or wool fibers from noil.

8. a comblike instrument for imparting a grainlike finish to a painted surface.

9. Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S.,  a ridge of a roof.

10. a series of springlike prongs projecting from a spine, usually of plastic, for making a loose-leaf binding.

11. a trowel having a notched edge for applying adhesives in setting tiles or the like.

12. Armor.,  a ridge along the top of a helmet, especially of the morion.

13. Masonry.,  drag.

14. the upper edge of the buttstock of a rifle or shotgun.

verb (used with object)

1. to arrange or adorn (the hair) with a comb.

2. to use (something) in the manner of a comb.

   She was slowly combing her fingers through her hair.

3. to remove (anything undesirable) with or as if with a comb.

   She combed the snarls out of her hair. They combed the cowards from the group.

4. to search everywhere in.

   He combed the files for the missing letter.

5. to separate (textile fibers) with a comb.

6. to scrape with or as with a comb.

7. to sweep across; rake.

   High winds combed the seacoast.

verb (used without object)

1. to roll over or break at the crest, as a wave.

comb.

²

abbreviation

1. combination.

2. combined.

3. combining.

4. combustion.

comb

/ kəʊm /

noun

1. a toothed device of metal, plastic, wood, etc, used for disentangling or arranging hair

2. a tool or machine that separates, cleans, and straightens wool, cotton, etc

3. the fixed cutter on a sheep-shearing machine

4. anything resembling a toothed comb in form or function

5. the fleshy deeply serrated outgrowth on the top of the heads of certain birds, esp the domestic fowl

6. anything resembling the comb of a bird

7. a currycomb

8. a honeycomb

9. the row of fused cilia in a ctenophore

10. to examine very thoroughly

verb

1. (tr) to use a comb on

2. to search or inspect with great care

   the police combed the woods

Other Word Forms

• combless adjective
• comblessness noun
• uncombed adjective
• well-combed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of comb¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English comb, camb; cognate with Old High German kamb ( German Kamm ), Old Norse kambr, Greek gómphos “pin, peg,” gomphíos “molar tooth,” Slavic (Polish) ząb “tooth,” Tocharian A kam “tooth”; cam ¹, kempt

Word History and Origins

Origin of comb¹

Old English camb; related to Old Norse kambr, Old High German camb

Idioms and Phrases

see fine-tooth comb.

Example Sentences

Starting next year, you won’t have to comb through Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist for a decent used refrigerator because your California apartment doesn’t come with one.

From Los Angeles Times

Federal investigators are helping comb through the charred building for more victims and evidence.

From Salon

When she's not combing through declassified documents, she enjoys cooking, hiking, and bird watching with her two boys.

From Salon

After days spent combing the bars and beaches, Mr Zende say the team received confirmation that Sobhraj was indeed in Goa.

From BBC

A readout of the machine's central processing unit "indicated that the escalator had stopped after a built-in safety mechanism on the comb step was triggered at the top of the escalator", he added.

From BBC

Related Words

• examine 
• forage 
• inspect 
• investigate 
• rake 
• rummage 
• scour 
• scrutinize 
• search 
• sift