Combs

How to spell combs

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce combs

What does combs mean?

1. nounMore than one comb: toothed implements used to arrange or untangle hair.
2. verbArranges or untangles hair with a comb; also searches an area thoroughly.

Combs in a sentence

• noun

  The wooden combs in the bathroom drawer belonged to her grandmother.

• verb

  She combs her long hair carefully before every meeting.

• noun

  The salon sells brushes and combs near the front counter.

• verb

  The detective combs the report for any overlooked detail.

Where does combs come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word descends from the Old English camb, which named a toothed tool for arranging hair as well as the comb of a rooster and the honeycomb of bees. It traces back to a Proto-Germanic form gambaz meaning 'tooth', a relative seen in the Dutch kam and the German Kamm, both still meaning 'comb'. Strikingly, the same ancient 'tooth' root is connected to the Greek gomphos, a peg or bolt, and even to the gum-line sense behind certain old anatomical words. The modern spelling keeps a silent 'b' that no longer sounds in speech; that letter is the chief spelling trap, since 'combs' is pronounced exactly like 'comes' for many speakers. The 'b' survives because the older word ended in that consonant cluster before the sound quietly dropped away in later English.

How the word is built

• comb (from Old English camb: toothed implement)
• -s (plural / third-person singular suffix)