comb

Examples

• All

• You might want to run a comb through your hair.

  One for the Money (2012)

• Then she quickly toweled off Kay's hair, ran a comb through it, and left.

  Fiction book (1999)

• I take a comb and comb my hair.

  Gypsy (1962)

• Then he took a comb out of his pocket and pulled it through his hair.

  Fiction book (1996)

• Back comb with some hair spray until you have a lot of volume there.

  I Feel Pretty (2018)

• You didn't even get the comb all the way through.

  Beyond the Lights (2014)

• Take the comb with the bleach... run it through my hair in sections.

  Kansas City (1996)

• Barbara took the comb from her bag and ran it slowly, tentatively through Joanne's limp auburn strands.

  Fiction book (1994)

• You might want to run a comb through your hair to make it look neater.

• She ran a comb through her hair every morning before school.

Synonyms

B

brushing

vscomb

3 1.0

To move a brush through hair to make it smooth

is more about untangling and arranging hair rather than smoothing

C

combing

vscomb

1 1.4

To pass a small tool with teeth through hair to make it neat and remove tangles

is the same action term but used as a base noun form

C

comb-out

vscomb

3.9

To remove tangles from hair using a comb

is broader and includes arranging and tidying hair as well as detangling

Idioms

W

with a fine-tooth comb

6 4.2

Look through something very carefully to find small mistakes

Compounds

F

fine-tooth comb

• Informal

7 4.3

A careful search that finds small mistakes or details

F

fine-toothed comb

• Informal

2 4.1

A very careful check of something to find small errors

C

comb jelly

• Specialized

8.8

A small transparent sea animal like a jellyfish that moves by beating eight rows of tiny hairs

C

comb-footed spider

• Specialized

9.8

A spider with a row of short stiff hairs on each hind foot that often spins irregular webs

C

comb-like

5.0

Thin, evenly spaced parts that stick out in a row like small teeth

C

comb-out

3.9

To remove tangles from hair using a comb

C

comb-out

7.0

Removing unwanted people or things from a group

C

comb-plate

• Specialized

9.9

A row of tiny hairs joined together that some sea animals use to move

D

dematting comb

6.8

A comb with sharp teeth that removes mats and tangles from an animal's coat

F

fine-tooth comb

3.7

A comb with very close teeth used to remove lice from hair

F

fine-toothed comb

3.7

A small tool with very close teeth used to remove lice or untangle hair

P

pocket comb

2.1

A small tool with teeth used to tidy hair that fits in a pocket

W

Welsh comb

8.6

A hair comb with wide teeth from Wales used to untangle curly hair

How Thorough

hairdressing

4 2.5

styling

12 3.5

grooming

24 2.2

comb

21 1.0

brush

145 1.0

Surface Forms

Etymology