climb
- to go up or ascend, especially by using the hands and feet or feet only: to climb up a ladder.
- to rise slowly by or as if by continued effort: The car laboriously climbed to the top of the mountain.
- to ascend or rise: The plane climbed rapidly and we were soon at 35,000 feet. Temperatures climbed into the 80s yesterday.
- to slope upward: The road climbs steeply up to the house.
- to ascend by twining or by means of tendrils, adhesive tissues, etc., as a plant: The ivy climbed to the roof.
- 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.
- to ascend in prominence, fortune, etc.: From lowly beginnings he climbed to the highest office in the land.
- 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.
- to go to the top of and over: The prisoners climbed the wall and escaped.
- a climbing; an ascent by climbing: It was a long climb to the top of the hill.
- a place to be climbed: That peak is quite a climb.
- climb down,
- to descend, especially by using both hands and feet.
- to retreat, as from an indefensible opinion or position: He was forced to climb down from his untenable position.
- climb the walls. wall(def 15).
Origin of climb
Synonym study
Antonyms for climb
Examples from the Web for climb
Contemporary Examples of climb
The pilot asked air-traffic control for permission to climb from 32,000 to 38,000 feet to avoid the bad weather.
Make a batch of these rum balls, climb into a onesie, and let your favorite movie do the rest.
Republicans have the highest hill to climb but greatest opportunity.
It took you quite a while to climb the Hollywood mountain, so to speak.
David Oyelowo on Playing Martin Luther King Jr., Ebola Fears, and Race in HollywoodMarlow Stern
October 15, 2014
Until the epidemic is brought under control, the CDC predicts the numbers will continue to climb at that rate.
Historical Examples of climb
I would I were my brother, your honour,” said Ambrose, “then would I climb the thee.
The Armourer's PrenticesCharlotte M. Yonge
Who foremost now to climb the leaguered wall, The first to triumph, or the first to fall?
The Grand Old ManRichard B. Cook
He will never fly at your elephant, or climb a tree, or take to the water after you!
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
After two hours' climb, the features of the landscape change.
The Roof of FranceMatilda Betham-Edwards
Without waiting to plan, I began to climb down the steep side of the ravine.
The Trail BookMary Austin
climb
- (also tr often foll by up) to go up or ascend (stairs, a mountain, etc)
- (often foll by along) to progress with difficultyto climb along a ledge
- to rise to a higher point or intensitythe temperature climbed
- to incline or slope upwardsthe road began to climb
- to ascend in social position
- (of plants) to grow upwards by twining, using tendrils or suckers, etc
- informal (foll by into) to put (on) or get (into)
- to be a climber or mountaineer
- the act or an instance of climbing
- a place or thing to be climbed, esp a route in mountaineering
Word Origin for climb
Word Origin and History for climb
Old English climban "raise oneself using hands and feet; rise gradually, ascend; make an ascent of" (past tense clamb, past participle clumben, clumbe), from West Germanic *klimbanan "go up by clinging" (cf. Dutch klimmen "to climb," Old High German klimban, German klimmen). A strong verb in Old English, weak by 16c. Most other Germanic languages long ago dropped the -b. Meaning "to mount as if by climbing" is from mid-14c. Figurative sense of "rise slowly by effort" is from mid-13c. Related: Climbed; climbing.
1580s, "act of climbing," from climb (v.). Meaning "an ascent by climbing" is from 1915, originally in aviation.