Adjacent Words

Comb definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

COMB, n. A valley between hills or mountains.
COMB, n. b silent.
1. An instrument, with teeth, for separating, cleansing and adjusting hair, wool, or flax. Also, an instrument of horn or shell, for keeping the hair in its place when dressed.
2. The crest, caruncle or red fleshy tuft, growing on a cocks head; so called from its indentures which resemble the teeth of a comb.
3. The substance in which bees lodge their honey, in small hexagonal cells.
4. A dry measure of four bushels.
COMB, v.t. To separate, disentangle, cleanse, and adjust with a comb, as to comb hair; or to separate, cleanse and lay smooth and straight, as to comb wool.
COMB, v.i. In the language of seamen, to roll over, as the top of a wave; or to break with a white foam.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a flat device with narrow pointed teeth on one edge; disentangles or arranges hair
2: the fleshy red crest on the head of the domestic fowl and other gallinaceous birds [syn: comb, cockscomb, coxcomb]
3: any of several tools for straightening fibers
4: ciliated comb-like swimming plate of a ctenophore
5: the act of drawing a comb through hair; "his hair needed a comb" [syn: comb, combing] v
1: straighten with a comb; "comb your hair"
2: search thoroughly; "They combed the area for the missing child" [syn: comb, ransack]
3: smoothen and neaten with or as with a comb; "comb your hair before dinner"; "comb the wool" [syn: comb, comb out, disentangle]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English camb; akin to Old High German kamb comb, Greek gomphos tooth Date: before 12th century 1. a. a toothed instrument used especially for adjusting, cleaning, or confining hair b. a structure resembling such a comb; especially any of several toothed devices used in handling or ordering textile fibers c. currycomb 2. a. a fleshy crest on the head of the domestic chicken and other domestic birds b. something (as the ridge of a roof) resembling the comb of a cock 3. honeycomb • combed adjective • comblike adjective II. verb Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to draw a comb through for the purpose of arranging or cleaning 2. to pass across with a scraping or raking action 3. a. to eliminate (as with a comb) by a thorough going-over b. to search or examine systematically <police are combing the city> 4. to use in a combing action intransitive verb 1. of a wave or its crest to roll over or break into foam 2. to make a thorough search <comb through the classified ads> III. abbreviation 1. combination; combined; combining 2. combustion

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a toothed strip of rigid material for tidying and arranging the hair, or for keeping it in place. 2 a part of a machine having a similar design or purpose. 3 a the red fleshy crest of a fowl, esp. a cock. b an analogous growth in other birds. 4 a honeycomb. --v.tr. 1 arrange or tidy (the hair) by drawing a comb through. 2 curry (a horse). 3 dress (wool or flax) with a comb. 4 search (a place) thoroughly. Phrases and idioms: comb out 1 tidy and arrange (hair) with a comb. 2 remove with a comb. 3 search or attack systematically. 4 search out and get rid of (anything unwanted). Derivatives: combed adj. Etymology: OE camb f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Comb Comb, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Combed; p. pr. & vb. n. Combing.] To disentangle, cleanse, or adjust, with a comb; to lay smooth and straight with, or as with, a comb; as, to comb hair or wool. See under Combing. Comb down his hair; look, look! it stands upright. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Comb Comb (?; 110), n. [AS. camb; akin to Sw., Dan., & D. kam, Icel. kambr, G. kamm, Gr. ? a grinder tooth, Skr. jambha tooth.] 1. An instrument with teeth, for straightening, cleansing, and adjusting the hair, or for keeping it in place. 2. An instrument for currying hairy animals, or cleansing and smoothing their coats; a currycomb. 3. (Manuf. & Mech.) (a) A toothed instrument used for separating and cleansing wool, flax, hair, etc. (b) The serrated vibratory doffing knife of a carding machine. (c) A former, commonly cone-shaped, used in hat manufacturing for hardening the soft fiber into a bat. (d) A tool with teeth, used for chasing screws on work in a lathe; a chaser. (e) The notched scale of a wire micrometer. (f) The collector of an electrical machine, usually resembling a comb.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Comb Comb, v. i. [See Comb, n., 5.] (Naut.) To roll over, as the top or crest of a wave; to break with a white foam, as waves.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Comb Comb, Combe Combe (? or ?), n. [AS. comb, prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. cwm a dale, valley.] That unwatered portion of a valley which forms its continuation beyond and above the most elevated spring that issues into it. [Written also coombe.] --Buckland. A gradual rise the shelving combe Displayed. --Southey.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Comb Comb, n. A dry measure. See Coomb.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Coomb Coomb, n. [AS. cumb a liquid measure, perh. from LL. cumba boat, tomb of stone, fr. Gr. ? hollow of a vessel, cup, boat, but cf. G. kumpf bowl.] A dry measure of four bushels, or half a quarter. [Written also comb.]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(combs, combing, combed) 1. A comb is a flat piece of plastic or metal with narrow pointed teeth along one side, which you use to tidy your hair. N-COUNT 2. When you comb your hair, you tidy it using a comb. Salvatore combed his hair carefully... Her reddish hair was cut short and neatly combed. VERB: V n, V-ed 3. If you comb a place, you search everywhere in it in order to find someone or something. Officers combed the woods for the murder weapon... They fanned out and carefully combed the temple grounds. VERB: V n for n, V n 4. If you comb through information, you look at it very carefully in order to find something. Eight policemen then spent two years combing through the evidence. VERB: V through n 5. see also fine-tooth comb

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Toilet-comb, dressing-comb. 2. Card (for wool, hair, flax, etc.). 3. Caruncle, head-tuft (of a cock or bird). 4. Top, crest (of a wave). 5. Honeycomb. II. v. a. Dress (with a comb), disentangle. III. v. n. Curl, roll over, break in foam.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

To comb one's head; to clapperclaw, or scold any one: a woman who lectures her husband, is said to comb his head. She combed his head with a joint stool; she threw a stool at him.

Moby Thesaurus

be poised, beat, billow, break, card, crash, curry, dash, ebb and flow, examine, forage, grub, hackle, hatchel, heave, heckle, inspect, investigate, lift, look all over, look everywhere, peak, popple, probe, rake, ransack, rifle, rise, rise and fall, roll, rummage, scend, scour, scrutinize, search, search high heaven, send, separate, shake, shake down, sift, smash, surge, swell, toss, turn inside out, turn upside down, undulate, wave, winnow