What does "comb" mean?
A toothed implement:; A toothed implement for grooming the hair or (formerly) for keeping it in place.
Comb
/kəʊm/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A toothed implement:; A toothed implement for grooming the hair or (formerly) for keeping it in place.
- Grammar: comb is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: align, be poised, beat, billow.
- Useful contrasts: brush, dishevel, glance.
- Usage evidence: Comb your hair before you go out.
How to use "comb"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "comb" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "comb" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "comb" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "comb" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "comb" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "align" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "comb", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A toothed implement:; A toothed implement for grooming the hair or (formerly) for keeping it in place.
"There was also hairdressing: hairdressing, too, really was hairdressing in those times — no running a comb through it and that was that. It was curled, frizzed, waved, put in curlers overnight, waved with hot tongs;[…]."
- 2 Abbreviation of combination. abbreviation, alt-of, rare
- 3 Alternative form of combe. alt-of, alternative
- 4 Alternative form of coomb. alt-of, alternative, dialectal
"[Regarding a period of agricultural depression] Even on the good land where the farmer hadn't enough capital to look after it and have it properly drained he couldn't hold on. He'd be getting a yield of eight combs of wheat and ten combs of barley per acre. But that wasn't good enough: it gave him no leeway. This is understandable when you recollect the price of wheat at that time."
- 5 the act of drawing a comb through hair wordnet
Show 23 more definitions
- 6 A toothed implement:; A machine used in separating choice cotton fibers from worsted cloth fibers.
- 7 the fleshy red crest on the head of the domestic fowl and other gallinaceous birds wordnet
- 8 A toothed implement:; The toothed plate at the top and bottom of an escalator that prevents objects getting trapped between the moving stairs and fixed landings.
- 9 ciliated comb-like swimming plate of a ctenophore wordnet
- 10 A toothed implement:; A toothed tool used for chasing screws on work in a lathe; a chaser.
- 11 a flat device with narrow pointed teeth on one edge; disentangles or arranges hair wordnet
- 12 A toothed implement:; The notched scale of a wire micrometer.
- 13 any of several tools for straightening fibers wordnet
- 14 A toothed implement:; The collector of an electrical machine, usually resembling a comb.
- 15 A toothed implement:; A toothed plate used for creating wells in agar gels for electrophoresis.
- 16 A toothed implement:; A toothed wooden pick used to push the weft thread tightly against the previous pass of thread to create a tight weave.
- 17 A toothed implement:; One of a pair of peculiar organs on the base of the abdomen in scorpions, with which they comb substrate.
- 18 A toothed implement:; A ctene.
"Ctenophores are mostly planktonic creatures about the size and shape of a kiwi fruit or grape, bearing rows of beating "combs.""
- 19 A crest:; A fleshy growth on the top of the head of some birds and reptiles; crest.
"I also obtained here a specimen of the rare green jungle-fowl (Gallus furcatus), whose back and neck are beautifully scaled with bronzy feathers, and whose smooth-edged oval comb is of a violet purple colour, changing to green at the base."
- 20 A crest:; A crest (of metal, leather, etc) on a piece of armor, especially on a helmet. broadly
"The head-dress of the Horse Grenadiers consists of a peculiar leather helmet with a comb of bear's skin passing over it from ear to ear and a long scarlet […]"
- 21 A crest:; The top part of a gun’s stock.
- 22 A structure of hexagon cells made by bees for storing honey; honeycomb.
"The combs of the wild bees are found on overhanging precipices, and the only means by which they can be reached is to descend from above on narrow cane ladders just wide enough for a man’s foot, and often 300 feet to 400 feet long."
- 23 The main body of a harmonica containing the air chambers and to which the reed plates are attached.
- 24 A former, commonly cone-shaped, used in hat manufacturing for hardening soft fibre.
- 25 An old English measure of corn equal to the half quarter.
"But the comb or half quarter is very general in the Eastern counties, particularly in Norfolk."
- 26 The curling crest of a wave; a comber.
- 27 A connected and reduced curve with irreducible components consisting of a smooth subcurve (called the handle) and one or more additional irreducible components (called teeth) that each intersect the handle in a single point that is unequal to the unique point of intersection for any of the other teeth.
- 28 A kind of vertical plate in a lode. Cornwall, obsolete
Verb
- 1 To groom with a toothed implement, especially a comb. especially, transitive
"I need to comb my hair before we leave the house."
- 2 smoothen and neaten with or as with a comb wordnet
- 3 To separate choice cotton fibers from worsted cloth fibers. transitive
- 4 search thoroughly wordnet
- 5 To search thoroughly as if raking over an area with a comb. transitive
"Police combed the field for evidence after the assault."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 straighten with a comb wordnet
- 7 To roll over, as the top or crest of a wave; to break with a white foam, as waves. intransitive
- 8 To turn a vessel parallel to (the track of) (a torpedo) so as to reduce one's size as a target. transitive
"The aircraft split up so as to attack from different, preselected bearings, thus confusing the gunners and making it difficult for the ship to comb torpedo tracks."
Antonyms
Example
"Comb your hair before you go out."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "comb"?
Common synonyms include: align, be poised, beat, billow, bore, break.
How do you use "comb" in a sentence?
Comb your hair before you go out.
How do you pronounce "comb"?
Pronounced /kəʊm/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English comb, from Old English camb (“comb”), from Proto-West Germanic *kamb, from Proto-Germanic *kambaz (“comb”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵómbʰos (“tooth”), a doublet of cam. The verb is derived from the noun and displaced the older verb kemb. Cognates Compare Saterland Frisian Koum, Swedish/Dutch kam, Danish kam, Norwegian kam, German Kamm; also Tocharian B keme, Lithuanian žam̃bas (“sharp edge”), Old Church Slavonic зѫбъ (zǫbŭ), Albanian dhëmb, Ancient Greek γομφίος (gomphíos, “backtooth, molar”), Sanskrit जम्भ (jambha)).
Etymology 2
From combination.