as in to search
to look through (as a place) carefully or thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something
combed the library for the missing book
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Recent Examples of comb
Hundreds of rescue workers had spent two days combing through the remains of the nightclub after its roof collapsed around 1 a.m. on Tuesday during a performance of merengue artist Rubby Pérez and his orchestra, authorities said.
—
Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 10 Apr. 2025
Rolling Stone spent the past several months conducting extensive interviews with members of the cast and crew and, with the help of her former assistant Blair Richwood, combing through the archives of Ziskin, who died from breast cancer in 2011.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 9 Apr. 2025
Palmer’s hair was pre-washed using the Curl Stretch Shampoo and Conditioner, then Redway followed up by showing us different methods for applying the Curl Stretch Multi-Tasking Volume Cream to the hair—from finger combing to using a detangling brush—then allowed the hair to air dry.
—Kayla Greaves, Essence, 1 Apr. 2025
Nearly a week after the quake, searchers in neighbouring Thailand hunting for survivors combed a mountain of debris left after a skyscraper in the capital, Bangkok, collapsed while under construction.
—Reuters, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for comb
Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 10 Apr. 2025
Rolling Stone spent the past several months conducting extensive interviews with members of the cast and crew and, with the help of her former assistant Blair Richwood, combing through the archives of Ziskin, who died from breast cancer in 2011.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 9 Apr. 2025
Palmer’s hair was pre-washed using the Curl Stretch Shampoo and Conditioner, then Redway followed up by showing us different methods for applying the Curl Stretch Multi-Tasking Volume Cream to the hair—from finger combing to using a detangling brush—then allowed the hair to air dry.
—Kayla Greaves, Essence, 1 Apr. 2025
Nearly a week after the quake, searchers in neighbouring Thailand hunting for survivors combed a mountain of debris left after a skyscraper in the capital, Bangkok, collapsed while under construction.
—Reuters, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for comb
Recent Examples of Synonyms for comb
Verb
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The United States Coast Guard is searching for five missing people after a boat capsized near St. Lucie Inlet in Florida on Sunday.—
T. Michelle Murphy,
ABC News,
13 Apr. 2025
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The study noted that 85% of breakup survivors search for explanations, all in an attempt to make sense of the cause of the split.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
13 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Each year, rake away debris from the base of the plant to help get rid of overwintering pests and apply fresh mulch.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
3 Apr. 2025
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The outbreak of tornadoes raked through towns under the cover of darkness — the most dangerous and deadly time for a tornado outbreak.—
Eric Zerkel,
CNN,
15 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Those few minutes sent students scrambling for cover and barricading themselves around campus until authorities found them.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
20 Apr. 2025
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Sporting found some moments of control in the second half and finally got a foothold in the game again.—
Daniel Sperry,
Kansas City Star,
20 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Comb.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/comb. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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