as in to search
to look through (as a place) carefully or thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something
combed the library for the missing book
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Recent Examples of comb
Think tanks the Health Foundation and the Nuffield Trust combed through official waiting time data for emergency and planned care, as well as a government survey on hospital waits, to find out who was being worst affected by delays.
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Katherine Hignett, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2024
More to Know: The curler is essentially a sleek, heated wand that combs lashes into a natural-looking curl in less than a minute.
—Kiana Murden, Vogue, 22 Oct. 2024
California Boring burglar tunnels into California gun store, steals $40,000 in merchandise
July 23, 2024
Foothill Ranch Elementary School, located nearby, was temporarily placed on lockdown as deputies combed the area.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2024
The painstaking effort of combing through a company’s financials and ownership structure and analyzing the market sector happens off camera.
—Jordyn Holman, New York Times, 18 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for comb 
Katherine Hignett, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2024
More to Know: The curler is essentially a sleek, heated wand that combs lashes into a natural-looking curl in less than a minute.
—Kiana Murden, Vogue, 22 Oct. 2024
California Boring burglar tunnels into California gun store, steals $40,000 in merchandise
July 23, 2024
Foothill Ranch Elementary School, located nearby, was temporarily placed on lockdown as deputies combed the area.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2024
The painstaking effort of combing through a company’s financials and ownership structure and analyzing the market sector happens off camera.
—Jordyn Holman, New York Times, 18 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for comb
Recent Examples of Synonyms for comb
Verb
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The city had long been searching for someone to develop part of downtown Jackson, and when two men showed up expressing their interest in late February, City Council member Virgi Lindsay agreed to meet with them at an upscale steakhouse in a nearby suburb.Bracey Harris, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024
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When Loera went down, Montoya searched for new answers in the midfield and found a trio that worked in Tess Boade, Kiki Pickett and Dorian Bailey, none of whom had a wealth of experience in a midfield role.Michael Nowels, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024
Verb
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As Helene’s outer bands raked the Appalachian range, the French Broad River began to swell.Chris Kenning, USA TODAY, 30 Oct. 2024
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If your arm hurts just thinking about raking leaves in the fall, an electric leaf blower will make yard cleanup much quicker and less strenuous.Camryn Rabideau, People.com, 11 Oct. 2024
Verb
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In essence, the Magic Trackpad is just a larger version of the touchpad found on MacBooks.PCMAG, PCMAG, 7 Nov. 2024
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The researchers found that replacing any less active behavior with five minutes of exercise could lower systolic blood pressure by 0.68 points and diastolic blood pressure by 0.54 points.Linda Carroll, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Comb.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/comb. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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