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Climb

 - 4 dictionary results

climb

[klahym]
–verb (used without object)
1. to go up or ascend, esp. by using the hands and feet or feet only: to climb up a ladder.
2. to rise slowly by or as if by continued effort: The car laboriously climbed to the top of the mountain.
3. to ascend or rise: The plane climbed rapidly and we were soon at 35,000 feet. Temperatures climbed into the 80s yesterday.
4. to slope upward: The road climbs steeply up to the house.
5. to ascend by twining or by means of tendrils, adhesive tissues, etc., as a plant: The ivy climbed to the roof.
6. to proceed or move by using the hands and feet, esp. on an elevated place; crawl: to climb along a branch; to climb around on the roof.
7. to ascend in prominence, fortune, etc.: From lowly beginnings he climbed to the highest office in the land.
–verb (used with object)
8. to ascend, go up, or get to the top of, esp. by the use of the hands and feet or feet alone or by continuous or strenuous effort: to climb a rope; to climb the stairs; to climb a mountain.
9. to go to the top of and over: The prisoners climbed the wall and escaped.
–noun
10. a climbing; an ascent by climbing: It was a long climb to the top of the hill.
11. a place to be climbed: That peak is quite a climb.
12. climb down,
a. to descend, esp. by using both hands and feet.
b. to retreat, as from an indefensible opinion or position: He was forced to climb down from his untenable position.
13. climb the walls. wall (def. 7).

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME climben, OE climban; c. D, G klimmen; akin to clamber


climb⋅a⋅ble, adjective


8. Climb, ascend, mount, scale imply a moving upward. To climb is to make one's way upward, often with effort: to climb a mountain. Ascend, in its literal meaning (“to go up”), is general, but it now usually suggests a gradual or stately movement, with or without effort, often to a considerable degree of altitude: to ascend the heights; to ascend the Himalayas. Mount may be interchangeable with ascend, but also suggests climbing on top of or astride of: to mount a platform, a horse. Scale, a more literary word, implies difficult or hazardous climbing up or over something: to scale a summit.


1, 8. descend. 10. descent.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Climb
climb   (klīm)   
v.   climbed, climb·ing, climbs

v.   tr.
  1. To move upward on or mount, especially by using the hands and feet or the feet alone; ascend: climb a mountain; climbed the stairs.

  2. To grow in an upward direction on or over: ivy climbing the walls.

v.   intr.
  1. To move oneself upward, especially by using the hands and feet.

  2. To rise slowly, steadily, or effortfully; ascend. See Synonyms at rise.

  3. To move in a specified direction by using the hands and feet: climbed down the ladder; climbed out the window.

  4. To slant or slope upward: The road climbs steeply to the top.

  5. To engage in the activity or sport of mountain climbing.

  6. To grow in an upward direction, as some plants do, often by means of twining stems or tendrils.

n.  
  1. An act of climbing; an ascent: a long, exhausting climb to the top.

  2. A place to be climbed: The face of the cliff was a steep climb.


[Middle English climben, from Old English climban.]
climb'a·ble (klī'mə-bəl) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
climb

  1. n.
    a marijuana cigarette. (Drugs. The means to a high.) : I need a climb to set me straight.
  2. tv.
    to scold someone. : The boss climbed Harry for being late.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

climb 
O.E. climban, from W.Gmc. *klimbanan "go up by clinging." A strong verb in O.E., weak by 16c. Most other Gmc. languages long ago dropped the -b.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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