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. 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. Slang. to become tense or frantic:

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

climb

/ klaɪm /

verb

1. also troften foll byup 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

noun

1. the act or an instance of climbing
2. a place or thing to be climbed, esp a route in mountaineering

Derived Forms

• ˈclimbable, adjective

Other Words From

• climb·a·ble adjective
• half-climb·ing adjective
• non·climb·a·ble adjective
• non·climb·ing adjective
• re·climb verb (used with object) reclimbed reclimbing
• un·climb·a·ble adjective
• un·climbed adjective
• un·climb·ing adjective

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of climb¹

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

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.

Example Sentences

The second was how much fun the game was to watch, measured by the overall win probability swings — the steeper the dips and climbs, the better.

From Washington Post

This path heads to the top of the 520-foot-high dome, which overlooks Sand Beach and also features a near vertical climb with narrow ledges and rungs embedded in the rock face.

From Outside Online

During the slow climb up the mountain, Jim and I chatted about our summers and the winter ahead.

From Outside Online

The stock’s IPO debuted at $27 a share, then once the pandemic hit, started a climb that looks like a ride up Mount Ventoux, today trading at almost $150 a share.

From Fortune

However, Vice still faces an uphill climb to increase its revenue because its growing TV and movie business accounts for less than half of its total revenue.

From Digiday

The pilot asked air-traffic control for permission to climb from 32,000 to 38,000 feet to avoid the bad weather.

From The Daily Beast

Make a batch of these rum balls, climb into a onesie, and let your favorite movie do the rest.

From The Daily Beast

Republicans have the highest hill to climb but greatest opportunity.

From The Daily Beast

It took you quite a while to climb the Hollywood mountain, so to speak.

From The Daily Beast

Until the epidemic is brought under control, the CDC predicts the numbers will continue to climb at that rate.

From The Daily Beast

Some of the alarm returned, however, when the creature attempted to climb up by his own ladder.

From Project Gutenberg

I made two attempts to climb up, but both times slipped back.

From Project Gutenberg

Analysis and practice in preparation are the steps over which we must climb to the platform of power.

From Project Gutenberg

It was held to be certain death to climb to its summit, and foolhardy in the extreme to go far up its sides.

From Project Gutenberg

Climb up the hill to the old fort and look at the little wriggling gold snakes, and watch the lizards sun themselves.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• ascend
• clamber
• go up
• mount
• rise
• scale
• soar
• top