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.
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combes.
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.
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a currycomb.
-
any comblike instrument, object, or formation.
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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.
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a comblike instrument for imparting a grainlike finish to a painted surface.
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Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. a ridge of a roof.
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a series of springlike prongs projecting from a spine, usually of plastic, for making a loose-leaf binding.
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a trowel having a notched edge for applying adhesives in setting tiles or the like.
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Armor. a ridge along the top of a helmet, especially of the morion.
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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.
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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.
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to search everywhere in.
He combed the files for the missing letter.
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to separate (textile fibers) with a comb.
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to scrape with or as with a comb.
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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
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the fixed cutter on a sheep-shearing machine
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anything resembling a toothed comb in form or function
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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
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a currycomb
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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
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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:
Vertex Pharmaceuticals used roughly 50 AI companies to comb through its data set of 10,000 drug compounds, but none generated a working drug.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
I wake up, fall out of bed, drag a comb across my head.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
More firms are using AI tools to comb job boards for competitors’ salary ranges in an effort to pinpoint market rates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 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 serpent’s eyes comb across the ship—probably deciding where to start with its meal.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
“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
“Those are her things. Her clothes. Her soap. Her comb. Her brush. You went in her house, didn’t you?”
From "The Old Willis Place" by Mary Downing Hahn
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
A travel set of marbled beard and mustache combs that’s as handsome as dad himself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Depending on where in the electromagnetic spectrum this ruler sits, scientists talk about optical, radio, or terahertz frequency combs.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 13, 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
Celia helps dress him and combs his hair, reminds him to brush his teeth, and ties his shoelaces.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
Detectives combed through video surveillance footage and identified a suspect, Sean Paul Green, whom prosecutors allege was also responsible for the bronze thefts in Tustin and other cities, including Long Beach and Huntington Beach.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
In the past, scammers would have manually combed through social-media profiles and other online data to piece together details about potential targets and obtain contact information.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
We've combed through it all, so you don't have to, and found six of the most interesting bits among the sea of numbers.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 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
The buildings rolled by as I pulled my hair around and combed my fingers through it, wondering at the peculiar little encounter with Russell.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Maybe the tickly moustache isn't helping his allergies - and combing it won't make much difference.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Pancho’s brother called up the leaders of the self-defense milita, and soon 200 men were combing the hills by flashlight.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
Cohen found MOTS-c by combing through the 97% of human DNA that doesn’t encode for genes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Palestinians could be seen combing through vast piles of rubble and debris in the aftermath of the attack.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
I turned away, and began combing my hair again before the looking-glass.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
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