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View synonyms for climb

climb

[klahym]

verb (used without object)

  1. to go up or ascend, especially by using the hands and feet or feet only.

    She climbed up the ladder.

    Antonyms: descend
  2. to rise slowly by or as if by continued effort.

    The car climbed laboriously to the top of the mountain.

  3. to ascend or rise.

    The plane climbed rapidly and we were soon at 35,000 feet.

    Temperatures climbed into the 80s yesterday.

  4. to slope upward.

    The road climbs steeply up to the house.

  5. (of a plant) to ascend by twining or by means of tendrils, adhesive tissues, etc..

    The ivy climbed to the roof.

  6. to proceed or move by using the hands and feet, especially on an elevated place; crawl.

    to climb along a branch;

    to climb around on the roof.

  7. to ascend in prominence, fortune, etc..

    From lowly beginnings he climbed to the highest office in the land.



verb (used with object)

  1. to ascend, go up, or get to the top of, especially by the use of the hands and feet or feet alone or by continuous or strenuous effort.

    to climb a rope;

    to climb the stairs;

    to climb a mountain.

    Antonyms: descend
  2. to go to the top of and over.

    The prisoners climbed the wall and escaped.

noun

  1. a climbing; an ascent by climbing.

    It was a long climb to the top of the hill.

    Antonyms: descent
  2. a place to be climbed.

    That peak is quite a climb.

verb phrase

  1. climb down

    1. to descend, especially by using both hands and feet.

      She climbed down from the treehouse and went to wash up for supper.

    2. Chiefly British.,  to retreat from a policy, opinion, position in a debate, etc..

      He climbed down from that argument once he saw that it was based on incorrect data.

  2. climb the walls,  to become tense or frantic.

    After a week stuck inside the house, the kids were climbing the walls.

climb

/ klaɪm /

verb

  1. to go up or ascend (stairs, a mountain, etc)

  2. (often foll by along) to progress with difficulty

    to climb along a ledge

  3. to rise to a higher point or intensity

    the temperature climbed

  4. to incline or slope upwards

    the road began to climb

  5. to ascend in social position

  6. (of plants) to grow upwards by twining, using tendrils or suckers, etc

  7. informal,  (foll by into) to put (on) or get (into)

  8. to be a climber or mountaineer

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. the act or an instance of climbing

  2. a place or thing to be climbed, esp a route in mountaineering

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Word Forms

  • climbable adjective
  • half-climbing adjective
  • nonclimbable adjective
  • nonclimbing adjective
  • reclimb verb (used with object)
  • unclimbable adjective
  • unclimbed adjective
  • unclimbing adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of climb1

First recorded before 1000; Middle English climben, Old English climban; cognate with Dutch, German klimmen; akin to clamber
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Word History and Origins

Origin of climb1

Old English climban; related to Old Norse klembra to squeeze, Old High German climban to clamber
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Synonym Study

Climb, ascend, mount, scale imply a moving upward. To climb is to make one's way upward, often with effort: to climb a mountain. Ascend, in its literal meaning (“to go up”), is general, but it now usually suggests a gradual or stately movement, with or without effort, often to a considerable degree of altitude: to ascend the heights; to ascend the Himalayas. Mount may be interchangeable with ascend, but also suggests climbing on top of or astride of: to mount a platform, a horse. Scale, a more literary word, implies difficult or hazardous climbing up or over something: to scale a summit.
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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Silver’s 72% rise this year had been a relatively steady climb.

As prices climbed Monday, Bank of America’s global commodity team on Monday published a bullish outlook for precious metals and stuck a $65 per ounce price target on silver for 2026.

Read more on MarketWatch

As those companies climb the AI learning curve, new efficiencies could stack up.

It’s a procession of people with nothing in common save the desire to climb the steps and enter this edifice: a public library in the middle of Ohio.

He climbed in the polls a bit after the incumbent, Eric Adams, dropped his own independent bid.

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