comb

A toothed implement:; A toothed implement for grooming the hair or (formerly) for keeping it in place.

• There was also hairdressing: hairdressing, too, really was hairdressing in those times — no running a comb through it and that was that. It was curled, frizzed, waved, put in curlers overnight, waved with hot tongs;[…].

A toothed implement:; A machine used in separating choice cotton fibers from worsted cloth fibers.

A toothed implement:; The toothed plate at the top and bottom of an escalator that prevents objects getting trapped between the moving stairs and fixed landings.

A toothed implement:; A toothed tool used for chasing screws on work in a lathe; a chaser.

A toothed implement:; The notched scale of a wire micrometer.

A toothed implement:; The collector of an electrical machine, usually resembling a comb.

A toothed implement:; A toothed plate used for creating wells in agar gels for electrophoresis.

A toothed implement:; A toothed wooden pick used to push the weft thread tightly against the previous pass of thread to create a tight weave.

A toothed implement:; One of a pair of peculiar organs on the base of the abdomen in scorpions, with which they comb substrate.

A toothed implement:; A ctene.

• Ctenophores are mostly planktonic creatures about the size and shape of a kiwi fruit or grape, bearing rows of beating "combs."

Especially of hair or fur, to groom with a toothed implement, especially a comb.transitive

• I like the way you comb your hair / And I like those stylish clothes you wear / It's just the little things you do / That show how much you really care

To separate choice cotton fibers from worsted cloth fibers.transitive

To search thoroughly as if raking over an area with a comb.transitive

• Police combed the field for evidence after the assault.

To roll over, as the top or crest of a wave; to break with a white foam, as waves.intransitive

To turn a vessel parallel to (the track of) (a torpedo) so as to reduce one's size as a target.transitive

• The aircraft split up so as to attack from different, preselected bearings, thus confusing the gunners and making it difficult for the ship to comb torpedo tracks.
• Sixteen torpedo bombers divided their attention between the two ships. Repulse combed the torpedo wakes and knocked down two of the attackers.

Abbreviation of combination.abbreviationalt-ofrare

Alternative form of combe.alt-ofalternative

Alternative form of coomb.alt-ofalternativedialectal

• [Regarding a period of agricultural depression] Even on the good land where the farmer hadn't enough capital to look after it and have it properly drained he couldn't hold on. He'd be getting a yield of eight combs of wheat and ten combs of