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comb

 - 12 dictionary results

comb

1  [kohm]
–noun
1. a toothed strip of plastic, hard rubber, bone, wood, or metal, used for arranging the hair, untangling it, or holding it in place.
2. a currycomb.
3. any comblike instrument, object, or formation.
4. the fleshy, more or less serrated outgrowth on the head of certain gallinaceous birds, esp. the domestic fowl.
5. something resembling or suggesting this, as the crest of a wave.
6. a honeycomb, or any similar group of cells.
7. a machine for separating choice cotton or wool fibers from noil.
8. a comblike instrument for imparting a grainlike finish to a painted surface.
9. Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. a ridge of a roof.
10. a series of springlike prongs projecting from a spine, usually of plastic, for making a loose-leaf binding.
11. a trowel having a notched edge for applying adhesives in setting tiles or the like.
12. Armor. a ridge along the top of a helmet, esp. of the morion.
13. Masonry. drag (def. 30).
14. the upper edge of the buttstock of a rifle or shotgun.
–verb (used with object)
15. to arrange or adorn (the hair) with a comb.
16. to use (something) in the manner of a comb: She was slowly combing her fingers through her hair.
17. to remove (anything undesirable) with or as if with a comb: She combed the snarls out of her hair. They combed the cowards from the group.
18. to search everywhere in: He combed the files for the missing letter.
19. to separate (textile fibers) with a comb.
20. to scrape with or as with a comb.
21. to sweep across; rake: High winds combed the seacoast.
–verb (used without object)
22. to roll over or break at the crest, as a wave.
Use comb in a Sentence
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE comb, camb; c. OHG kamb (G Kamm), ON kambr, Gk gómphos pin, peg, gomphíos molar tooth; see cam

Related forms:
combless, adjective
comb⋅less⋅ness, noun

comb

2  [koom, kohm]
–noun
combe.

comb.

 
1. combination.
2. combined.
3. combining.
4. combustion.

combe

  [koom, kohm]
–noun British.
a narrow valley or deep hollow, esp. one enclosed on all but one side.
Also, comb, coomb, coombe.

Origin:
OE cumb valley < British Celtic; cf. cwm

drag

  [drag] verb, dragged, drag⋅ging, noun, adjective
–verb (used with object)
1. to draw with force, effort, or difficulty; pull heavily or slowly along; haul; trail: They dragged the carpet out of the house.
2. to search with a drag, grapnel, or the like: They dragged the lake for the body of the missing man.
3. to level and smooth (land) with a drag or harrow.
4. to introduce; inject; insert: He drags his honorary degree into every discussion.
5. to protract (something) or pass (time) tediously or painfully (often fol. by out or on): They dragged the discussion out for three hours.
6. to pull (a graphical image) from one place to another on a computer display screen, esp. by using a mouse.
–verb (used without object)
7. to be drawn or hauled along.
8. to trail on the ground.
9. to move heavily or with effort.
10. to proceed or pass with tedious slowness: The parade dragged by endlessly.
11. to feel listless or apathetic; move listlessly or apathetically (often fol. by around): This heat wave has everyone dragging around.
12. to lag behind.
13. to use a drag or grapnel; dredge.
14. to take part in a drag race.
15. to take a puff: to drag on a cigarette.
–noun
16. Nautical.
a. a designed increase of draft toward the stern of a vessel.
b. resistance to the movement of a hull through the water.
c. any of a number of weights dragged cumulatively by a vessel sliding down ways to check its speed.
d. any object dragged in the water, as a sea anchor.
e. any device for dragging the bottom of a body of water to recover or detect objects.
17. Agriculture. a heavy wooden or steel frame drawn over the ground to smooth it.
18. Slang. someone or something tedious; a bore: It's a drag having to read this old novel.
19. a stout sledge or sled.
20. Aeronautics. the aerodynamic force exerted on an airfoil, airplane, or other aerodynamic body that tends to reduce its forward motion.
21. a four-horse sporting and passenger coach with seats inside and on top.
22. a metal shoe to receive a wheel of heavy wagons and serve as a brake on steep grades.
23. something that retards progress.
24. an act of dragging.
25. slow, laborious movement or procedure; retardation.
26. a puff or inhalation on a cigarette, pipe, etc.
27. Hunting.
a. the scent left by a fox or other animal.
b. something, as aniseed, dragged over the ground to leave an artificial scent.
c. Also called drag hunt. a hunt, esp. a fox hunt, in which the hounds follow an artificial scent.
28. Angling.
a. a brake on a fishing reel.
b. the sideways pull on a fishline, as caused by a crosscurrent.
29. clothing characteristically associated with one sex when worn by a person of the opposite sex: a Mardi Gras ball at which many of the dancers were in drag.
30. clothing characteristic of a particular occupation or milieu: Two guests showed up in gangster drag.
31. Also called comb. Masonry. a steel plate with a serrated edge for dressing a stone surface.
32. Metallurgy. the lower part of a flask. Compare cope 2 (def. 5).
33. Slang. influence: He claims he has drag with his senator.
34. Slang. a girl or woman that one is escorting; date.
35. Informal. a street or thoroughfare, esp. a main street of a town or city.
36. drag race.
37. Eastern New England. a sledge, as for carrying stones from a field.
–adjective
38. marked by or involving the wearing of clothing characteristically associated with the opposite sex; transvestite.
—Idiom
39. drag one's feet or heels, to act with reluctance; delay: The committee is dragging its feet coming to a decision.
Origin:
1350–1400; 1920–25 for def. 17; ME; both n. and v. prob. < MLG dragge grapnel, draggen to dredge, deriv. of drag- draw; defs. 29-30, 38, obscurely related to other senses and perh. a distinct word of independent orig.

Synonyms:
1. See draw. 11. linger, loiter.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To comb
comb   (kōm)   
n.  

    1. A thin toothed strip, as of plastic, used to smooth, arrange, or fasten the hair.

    2. An implement, such as a card for dressing and cleansing wool or other fiber, that resembles a hair comb in shape or use.

    3. A currycomb.

    4. The fleshy crest or ridge that grows on the crown of the head of domestic fowl and other birds and is most prominent in the male.

    5. Something suggesting a fowl's comb in appearance or position.

    1. The fleshy crest or ridge that grows on the crown of the head of domestic fowl and other birds and is most prominent in the male.

    2. Something suggesting a fowl's comb in appearance or position.

  3. A honeycomb.

v.   combed, comb·ing, combs

v.   tr.

    1. To move a comb through (the hair) so as to arrange or groom: combed her hair with a comb; combed his hair with his fingers.

    2. To move though or pass across with a raking action: The wind combed the wheatfields.

  2. To card (wool or other fiber).

  3. To search thoroughly; look through: combed the dresser drawers for a lost bracelet.

  4. To eliminate with or as with a comb: combed the snarls out of his hair.

v.   intr.

  1. To roll and break. Used of waves.

  2. To make a thorough search: combed through the file for the contract.


[Middle English, from Old English; see gembh- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
drag

  1. n.
    something dull and boring. : What a drag. Let's go someplace interesting.
  2. n.
    an annoying person; a burdensome person. (See also schlep.) : Gert could sure be a drag when she wanted.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

comb 
O.E. camb "comb," lit. "toothed object," from W.Gmc. *kambaz, from PIE *gombhos, from base *gembh- "to bite, tooth" (cf. Gk. gomphos "a molar tooth," Skt. gambha-s "tooth"). As a verb, replaced O.E. cemban, which survives in unkempt.

drag 
1440, from O.N. draga, or a dial. variant of O.E. dragan "to draw," from P.Gmc. *dragan "to draw, pull," from PIE base *dhragh- "to draw, drag on the ground" (cf. Skt. dhrajati "pulls, slides in," Rus. drogi "wagon," and related to L. trahere; see tract (1)). Meaning "to take a puff" (of a cigarette, etc.) is from 1914. Sense of "annoying, boring person or thing" is 1813; sense of "women's clothing worn by a man" is said to be 1870 theater slang, from the sensation of long skirts trailing on the floor (another guess is Yiddish trogn "to wear," from Ger. tragen); drag queen is from 1941. Drag-out "violent fight" is from c.1859. Drag racing (1954) is from slang sense of "wagon, buggy" (1755), because a horse would drag it. By 1851 this was transferred to "street," as in the phrase main drag, and it was adopted by hot rodders for "race on city streets." Dragster is also from 1954. Dragnet is recorded from 1541, originally in fishing. To drag (one's) feet (1946, in fig. sense) is supposedly from logging, from the way to goof off while working a two-man saw.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Science Dictionary
drag   (drāg)  Pronunciation Key 
A force acting on a moving body, opposite in direction to the movement of the body, caused by the interaction of the body and the medium it moves through. The strength of drag usually depends on the velocity of the body. ◇ Drag caused by buildup of pressure in front of the moving body and a decrease in pressure behind the body is called pressure drag. It is an important factor in the design of aerodynamically efficient shapes for cars and airplanes. ◇ Drag caused by the viscosity of the medium as the molecules along the body's surface move through it is called skin drag or skin friction. It is an important factor in the design of efficient surface materials for cars, airplanes, boat hulls, skis, and swimsuits. Compare lift. See Note at aerodynamics.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Idioms & Phrases

comb

see fine-tooth comb.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
COMB
Center of Marine Biotechnology
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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