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.
the upper edge of the buttstock of a rifle or shotgun.
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.
combination.
combined.
combining.
combustion.
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
(tr) to use a comb on
to search or inspect with great care
the police combed the woods
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
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."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
Commander Grieve appealed for anyone with information to contact police, as officers and volunteers comb nearby bush and desert for Sharon.
From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2026
That was a fake trail, said Lloyd’s List analysts who comb through data along with advanced analytics and human intelligence to detect spoofing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
Thanks to “Cosmic Music,” anyone interested in her life and work doesn’t have to go comb through microfilm or ancient magazines to learn more about this unbelievably accomplished and completely fascinating human being.
From Salon ● Apr. 14, 2026
Mom picked up the comb absentmindedly and set it down again.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
“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
“That’s the uncapper over there, where we take the wax off the comb. Then it goes through the wax melter over here.”
From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
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
Polygenic scoring combs through a person's DNA and calculates how likely they may be to develop a disease.
From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2025
First, it combs through what can be tens of thousands of recorded sales calls with customers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
Lice are spread by direct contact with the hair or items that an infested person has used, like hats, combs, brushes, towels, pillows, beds or even stuffed animals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2024
Extra clothes, books, scientific instruments and specimens, chess sets, flags, lanterns, tools, sewing kits, lucky talismans, razors, barometers, combs, scissors, playing cards, dishes, silverware, photographs—each man added to the heap.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
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
After the jarring encounter, Carpenter’s security team combed through security tapes and discovered Applegate had been coming around for more than a month, according to the court request.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
They combed through CulturaX, one of the largest open-source Chinese-language data sets that AI labs use to train models—about 189 million documents scraped from the Chinese-language internet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
After corroborating these reports, investigators later combed through an area equivalent to 35 Melbourne Cricket Grounds.
From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026
Her butter-colored hair had been combed into a simple ponytail.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
But after combing through the info we do have, Slate’s Heather Schwedel renders this brutally honest verdict.
From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2026
Wearing a hardhat and neon safety vest, the executive is shown combing the stadium for Lumen branding, with the result being that its logo is prominently displayed -- in the video, at least.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 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
Investors are combing stock listings for winners in an otherwise down market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
I’m not sure I’m doing any good, but the combing makes him relax.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
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.
