What does comb mean?
A comb is one of humanity's oldest personal tools: a flat implement edged with a row of teeth, used chiefly to detangle, smooth, and shape the hair. The word also serves as a verb, meaning both to groom with such an implement and, by extension, to search a place with painstaking thoroughness — police are said to comb an area when they examine it methodically from end to end. Beyond grooming, the term reaches into unexpected corners: a rooster's fleshy red crown is called a comb, wool is combed to align its fibres before spinning, and honeycomb describes the hexagonal wax structure bees build. Derived forms include 'combed', 'combing', and 'comber'. The final 'b' is silent, making the pronunciation /koʊm/ rhyme with home rather than thumb. Simple, ancient, and indispensable, 'comb' connects everyday grooming with some of English's most enduring metaphors for careful searching.
A toothed implement used for smoothing, detangling, or arranging the hair; also a similar device used in textile work or machinery.
"She bought a wide-toothed comb for her curly hair."
Extended senses include the crest on a bird's head and devices for combing wool.
To draw a comb through the hair, or to search an area exhaustively and methodically.
"Rescue teams combed the forest for hours without finding the hikers."
The search sense often appears with the phrase 'comb through' or 'with a fine-tooth comb'.
Regular plural; identical in British and American usage.
"The gift set included two combs and a mirror."
The word 'comb' hides its history in plain sight — that silent 'b' at the end was once pronounced, and place names like the Combe valleys of England still echo its ancient root.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of comb
Comb descends from Old English 'camb' or 'comb', meaning a toothed instrument, which in turn goes back to Proto-Germanic '*kambaz', cognate with Old Norse 'kambr'. The same Germanic root appears in 'honeycomb', reflecting the resemblance of wax cells to a toothed structure, and survives in English place names like 'combe', denoting a short valley. It has no Latin or Greek ancestry, making it a rare survivor among everyday words of purely Germanic stock.
Related word forms
How comb is actually used
The verb sense 'to comb an area' (a thorough search) is common in news and official reporting. The bird's-crest sense is largely restricted to zoological and farming contexts. The word is neutral in tone across all senses; no significant regional variation exists between British and American English beyond ordinary accent differences.
Easily confused with comb
'Tomb' shares a similar spelling pattern but rhymes with 'room' (silent b), whereas 'comb' ends in a silent b and rhymes with 'home'; they are unrelated in meaning.