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climb down

 - 4 dictionary results

climb-down

  [klahym-doun]
Use climb down in a Sentence
–noun
a retreat, as from an indefensible opinion or position.
Origin:
1885–90; n. use of v. phrase climb down

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.
—Verb phrases
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

Related forms:
climb⋅a⋅ble, adjective

Synonyms:
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.

Antonyms:
1, 8. descend. 10. descent.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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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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