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Glite Dictionary
💇 Removing tangles 🧹 Removing unwanted items
comb-out

comb-out

7.0
Removing unwanted people or things from a group
  • noun
translation icon : depuración
  • After the scandal, the company underwent a thorough comb-out to restore public trust.

Examples

  • The library is planning a comb-out of outdated books next month.

  • The manager ordered a complete comb-out of inefficient procedures in the office.

  • The team conducted a thorough comb-out of the applicants.

  • During the comb-out, many candidates were eliminated.

  • The library is planning a comb-out of outdated books next month.

  • After the scandal, the company underwent a thorough comb-out to restore public trust.

  • The manager ordered a complete comb-out of inefficient procedures in the office.

Synonyms

housecleaning
vscomb-out
  • Literature
4 4.9

Removing unwanted people or practices to improve an organization

is a careful targeted removal of specific unwanted people or items

How Thorough

comb-out
7.0
screening
23 3.9

Surface Forms

comb-out singular
comb-outs plural

Morphology

comb-out = comb (semi-transparent) = out + comb

The figurative sense of screening out unwanted members is based on the literal idea of combing through something, but it is a metaphorical extension. [Postprocessing: moved 'out' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Comb-out is also used to mean the careful act of pulling things 'out', from the same image of a comb plus out. A helpful way to remember this sense is to picture combing through a group and taking away the unwanted people or items, which is why a comb-out means a careful removal of things you do not want.