comb

Universal Words noun, verb noun 1 [C] a flat piece of plastic or metal with a row of thin teeth along one side, used for making your hair neat; a smaller version of this worn by women in their hair to hold it in place or as an ornament: He just had time to wash his face and drag a comb through his hair before going out. 2 [C,usually sing.] the act of using a comb on your hair: Your hair needs a good comb. 3 [C,U] = HONEYCOMB 4 [C] the soft, red piece of flesh on the head of a male chicken IDIOMS see FINE-TOOTHCOMBadj. verb 1 [VN] to pull a comb through your hair in order to make it neat: Don't forget to comb your hair! * Her hair was neatly combed back. 2 ~ (through) sth (for sb/sth) to search sth carefully in order to find sb/sth: [VN] The police combed the area for clues. * I combed the shops looking for something to wear. * [V] They combed through the files for evidence of fraud. 3 [VN] (technical) to make wool, cotton, etc. clean and straight using a special comb so that it can be used to make fabric PHRASALVERBS comb sth<->out to pull a comb through hair in order to make it neat or to remove knots from it