comb
noun
a toothed strip of plastic, hard rubber, bone, wood, or metal, used for arranging the hair, untangling it, or holding it in place.
comb
1 American
[kohm]
/ koʊm /
noun
-
combs
plural
-
a toothed strip of plastic, hard rubber, bone, wood, or metal, used for arranging the hair, untangling it, or holding it in place.
-
a currycomb.
-
any comblike instrument, object, or formation.
-
the fleshy, more or less serrated outgrowth on the head of certain gallinaceous birds, especially the domestic fowl.
-
something resembling or suggesting this, as the crest of a wave.
-
a honeycomb, or any similar group of cells.
-
a machine for separating choice cotton or wool fibers from noil.
-
a comblike instrument for imparting a grainlike finish to a painted surface.
-
Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. a ridge of a roof.
-
a series of springlike prongs projecting from a spine, usually of plastic, for making a loose-leaf binding.
-
a trowel having a notched edge for applying adhesives in setting tiles or the like.
-
Armor. a ridge along the top of a helmet, especially of the morion.
-
Masonry. drag.
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the upper edge of the buttstock of a rifle or shotgun.
verb (used with object)
-
combs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
combed,
past participle, past
-
combing
present participle
-
to arrange or adorn (the hair) with a comb.
-
to use (something) in the manner of a comb.
She was slowly combing her fingers through her hair.
-
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.
-
to search everywhere in.
He combed the files for the missing letter.
-
to separate (textile fibers) with a comb.
-
to scrape with or as with a comb.
-
to sweep across; rake.
High winds combed the seacoast.
verb (used without object)
-
combs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
combed,
past participle, past
-
combing
present participle
comb.
2
American
abbreviation
-
combination.
-
combined.
-
combining.
-
combustion.
comb
British
/ kəʊm /
noun
-
a toothed device of metal, plastic, wood, etc, used for disentangling or arranging hair
-
a tool or machine that separates, cleans, and straightens wool, cotton, etc
-
the fixed cutter on a sheep-shearing machine
-
anything resembling a toothed comb in form or function
-
the fleshy deeply serrated outgrowth on the top of the heads of certain birds, esp the domestic fowl
-
anything resembling the comb of a bird
-
a currycomb
-
a honeycomb
-
the row of fused cilia in a ctenophore
-
to examine very thoroughly
verb
-
(tr) to use a comb on
-
to search or inspect with great care
the police combed the woods
comb
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
combsimple
-
combssimple
-
have combedperfect
-
has combedperfect
-
am combingprogressive
-
are combingprogressive
-
is combingprogressive
-
have been combingperfect progressive
-
has been combingperfect progressive
Past
-
combedsimple
-
had combedperfect
-
was combingprogressive
-
were combingprogressive
-
had been combingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of comb
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”; see cam 1, kempt
Explanation
A comb is a tool for smoothing your hair. You might pull a comb through your curls before you run out the door in the morning to catch your bus. A comb is made of plastic or wood, with separate teeth that untangle strands of hair. When you use one, you comb: "I grabbed the comb so I could comb my cat before the photo shoot." Another way to comb is to rummage or search, the way you comb through your bag to find your car keys. The Old English root is camb, "crest" or "honeycomb," from a Germanic root that means "toothed object."
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.
See Examples For:
Rescuers were later seen using excavators to comb through a mountain of scattered rubbish at the site as local residents gathered nearby.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
Staffed by a combination of HSI experts and outside consultants, it developed software tools to comb the data for information that could help agents pursue criminal suspects.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
The site also preserved Eoandromeda, a possible comb jelly with eight arms arranged in a spiral.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
He took the extra time to brush his teeth and comb his hair, before putting on his blue jumpsuit and getting ushered into a van in handcuffs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
Soon he could pull the comb straight through her hair, from the very top to the ends, without snagging at all.
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
“It’s two bald blokes fighting over a comb. Whoever wins will have their arse handed to them by Bayern on Sunday night.”
From The Guardian ● Aug. 18, 2020
“We are going through these with a fine-tooth comb. There is a very specific checklist.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2019
“No. Look I can prove it. That quarter on the hood, next to my comb. It’s from 1982. I left it in my pocket by mistake.”
From Nature ● Oct. 22, 2019
My daughter-in-law says, “Don’t do the comb. I don’t want him doing that in school — he’s 11.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2016
“Yes, that might be something to search for. A tortoiseshell hair comb. Next to a gray bureau in the far back corner. That’s where I got this fabulous dress,” she said, twirling.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
Many vets do not treat their own pets monthly, the committee heard, instead regularly checking their pets' fur with flea combs and restricting use to when fleas were spotted.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
All of us — probably the Newsoms included — will just have to wait to see if the fine-tooth combs of the feds pick up any dirt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2026
A travel set of marbled beard and mustache combs that’s as handsome as dad himself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
With the help of Rydberg atoms, the transformative uses of optical frequency combs can now be extended into the previously difficult terahertz region.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 13, 2025
“All they can do, really, is lay unfertilized drone eggs. They’ll fill up the combs with them, and as the workers naturally die off, there are none to replace them.”
From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
Rescuers combed through debris for survivors Saturday after a powerful earthquake struck off Flores island in eastern Indonesia, killing at least 20 people and sending thousands fleeing.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
The May PCE report isn’t likely to be taken for granted by the market; it will be combed carefully and methodically for signs to either add to or dial back rate-hike bets.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026
As the festival kicks off its 25th year, we combed through The Times’ extensive archives to take a trip down Coachella’s memory lane.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2026
After corroborating these reports, investigators later combed through an area equivalent to 35 Melbourne Cricket Grounds.
From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026
Dean Nabokov combed through papers, her peculiar gloves leaving behind stamps.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
Palestinians could be seen combing through vast piles of rubble and debris in the aftermath of the attack.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Over the course of eight months, The Wall Street Journal investigated how the company operated in Michigan and in its second largest market, Ohio, combing through public records and financial documents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
But after combing through the info we do have, Slate’s Heather Schwedel renders this brutally honest verdict.
From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2026
Just a week ago, nearly 200 rescue workers, mostly volunteers, were still combing the Desolation Wilderness in El Dorado National Forest searching for Jason Coughran, 60, after the hiker went missing on May 25.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026
Beetle liked to watch the cat stretching in the sunshine, combing his belly with his tongue, chewing the burrs and stubble out from between his toes.
From "The Midwife's Apprentice" by Karen Cushman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
