comb

Word family

Related topics: Daily life, Hair & beauty, Animals, Insects

comb1 /kəʊm $ koʊm/ S3 noun

[countableC]D a flat piece of plastic, metal etc with a row of thin teeth on one side, used for making your hair tidy 梳子 → brush

2. [countableC]DCB a small flat piece of plastic, metal etc with a row of thin teeth on one side, used for keeping your hair back or for decoration 〔将头发固定于脑后或作装饰用的〕梳状饰物，发插

3 [singular]DCB if you give your hair a comb, you make it tidy using a comb 梳理

Your hair needs a good comb.

你的头发需要好好梳理一下。

4. [countableC]HBA the red piece of flesh that grows on top of a male chicken’s head 〔公鸡的〕鸡冠，肉冠

5. [countableC]HBI a honeycomb 蜂巢

→ fine-tooth comb

Examples from the Corpus

comb• But the dances are normally performed on a comb in the hive where they hang vertically.• The mysterious tonic and the fine-tooth metal comb brought Walker incredible wealth.• She plotted a new method to kill Snow White: with a poisoned comb.• But Jim was stunned, because he had sold his gold watch to buy Della the combs.• She barely noticed it at all as she stood for a few seconds in front of the mirror and pulled the comb through her hair.• The comb and tissue can be used to make a kazoo. 2.• Hair is in a stretched state when wet, a wide-tooth comb reduces breakage by gently passing through hair.

Related topics: Hair & beauty

comb2 S3 verb [transitiveT]

1 DCBto make hair look tidy using a comb 梳，梳理

Melanie ran upstairs to comb her hair.

梅拉妮跑上楼去梳头发。

2 LOOK FORto search a place thoroughly 彻底搜寻，四处搜查

comb something for somebody/something

Police are still combing the woods for the missing boy.

警方仍在树林里四处搜寻那名失踪的男孩。

3 comb something ↔ out phrasal verbphr v DCBDHPto use a comb to make untidy hair look smooth and tidy 梳理〔头发、毛发等〕

She sat combing out her hair in front of the kitchen mirror.

她坐在厨房镜子前梳头发。

Examples from the Corpus

comb out• A gorgeous Eurasian man combs me out.• Let him see the hand go through the hair, as if combing the wetness out.• It lay as if some giant hand had combed it out and then blow-dried it, in a perfect circle.

4 comb through something phrasal verbphr v FIND OUTto search through a lot of objects or information in order to find a specific thing or piece of information 〔在大量物件、信息中〕仔细搜寻

We spent weeks combing through huge piles of old documents.

我们在大堆大堆的旧文件里仔细翻找了好几个星期。

Examples from the Corpus

comb through • She barely noticed it at all as she stood for a few seconds in front of the mirror and pulled the comb through her hair.• We combed through her work separating weak words from strong ones, turning over her content for meaning.• They have combed through Himes' correspondence, his autobiographies and old letters.• Stroke the Luminescent Mousse quickly through your hair and comb through, making sure that it is well distributed at the roots.• In response, the staff combed through the 10-year budget for savings.• No one expected him to comb through the budget he already had, to find savings.• Slowly he began to stroke the comb through the silken strands.• After applying, comb through to ensure even distribution and leave for a minimum of three minutes.

Examples from the Corpus

comb• His blond hair was neatly combed.• It has no elasticity, is brittle and breaks easily when brushed or combed.• There was no way I could search the entire house, but I could certainly comb a couple of places.• Never before have we been so potent, not even in New York when we were combing nurses out of our hair.• She had not combed out her hair.• Tugboats and helicopters combed the area before the body was finally found.• Hours later, police were still combing the blood-smeared lobby for evidence.• Police and volunteers are combing the countryside in the hope of finding the missing boy.• Rescuers combed the hillsides but found no trace of the missing climbers.• The children combed the shoreline for shells.• Let him see the hand go through the hair, as if combing the wetness out.• Oh, yes, I comb their hair and, when I am finished, I sing to them.• After applying, comb through to ensure even distribution and leave for a minimum of three minutes.

comb ... hair• Never brush your hair when wet; instead use a wide-tooth comb.• She eats another nut, and needlessly, absently, combs her hair.• They ate steak pudding with exceptional appetite and, when everything was cleared away, Melanie ran upstairs to comb her hair.• Still I used it to comb my hair and reset my tie.• He had just enough time to comb his hair before the doorbell sounded.• He wore his carefully combed wavy hair, dark brown with tinges of gray, rather long.• She was combing her hair, her face reflected in the mirror sheet of beaten gold.

comb something for somebody/something• Police combed the forest for clues.

Origin comb1

Old English camb

comb1 nouncomb2 verb

Chinese

Corpus