HOW TO PRONOUNCE
comb
/koʊm/
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American Pronunciation Guide · 1:05
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The b is silent.
The vowel sounds like go. Finish with m, leaving the b silent.
TRY SAYING
“Use a comb.”
APG practice sentence · CC BY-SA 4.0
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗What does comb mean?
noun
- A toothed implement for grooming the hair or (formerly) for keeping it in place.
- A machine used in separating choice cotton fibers from worsted cloth fibers.
- The toothed plate at the top and bottom of an escalator that prevents objects getting trapped between the moving stairs and fixed landings.
More meanings (25)
noun
- A toothed tool used for chasing screws on work in a lathe; a chaser.
- The notched scale of a wire micrometer.
- The collector of an electrical machine, usually resembling a comb.
- A toothed plate used for creating wells in agar gels for electrophoresis.
- A toothed wooden pick used to push the weft thread tightly against the previous pass of thread to create a tight weave.
- One of a pair of peculiar organs on the base of the abdomen in scorpions, with which they comb substrate.
- A ctene.
- A fleshy growth on the top of the head of some birds and reptiles; crest.
- A crest (of metal, leather, etc) on a piece of armor, especially on a helmet.
- The top part of a gun’s stock.
- A structure of hexagon cells made by bees for storing honey; honeycomb.
- The main body of a harmonica containing the air chambers and to which the reed plates are attached.
- A former, commonly cone-shaped, used in hat manufacturing for hardening soft fibre.
- An old English measure of corn equal to the half quarter.
- The curling crest of a wave; a comber.
- 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.
- Alternative form of combe.
- Alternative form of coomb.
- (obsolete) A kind of vertical plate in a lode.
- (rare) Abbreviation of combination.
verb
- Especially of hair or fur, to groom with a toothed implement, especially a comb.
- To separate choice cotton fibers from worsted cloth fibers.
- To search thoroughly as if raking over an area with a comb.
- To roll over, as the top or crest of a wave; to break with a white foam, as waves.
- To turn a vessel parallel to (the track of) (a torpedo) so as to reduce one's size as a target.
Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0
IPA pronunciation
/koʊm/
Pronunciation used in the listening tip.
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.
In the pages of books
See this word in context.
By the above singular manner of building, strength is continually given to the comb, with the utmost ultimate economy of wax.
“Give me a leg,” said Diamond, and in a moment he was on the old horse's back with the comb and brush.
More book examples (3)
Her brown hair was waved in front and done up behind in a great twist, held by a tortoiseshell comb with gold filigree.
I had a pan of scalding water near and would use the comb and shake off the animated nature into the hot water.
Carneades was so besotted with it, that he would not find time so much as to comb his head or to pare his nails.