combing

Verb

comb (third-person singular simple present combs, present participle combing, simple past and past participle combed)

1. (transitive) Especially of hair or fur, to groom with a toothed implement, especially a comb.
   • I like the way you comb your hair / And I like those stylish clothes you wear / It's just the little things you do / That show how much you really care1982, Debarge, “I Like It (DeBarge song)”, in All This Love (album)
2. (transitive) To separate choice cotton fibers from worsted cloth fibers.
3. (transitive) To search thoroughly as if raking over an area with a comb.
   • Police combed the field for evidence after the assault.
4. (intransitive) To roll over, as the top or crest of a wave; to break with a white foam, as waves.
5. (transitive) To turn a vessel parallel to (the track of) (a torpedo) so as to reduce one's size as a target.
   • The aircraft split up so as to attack from different, preselected bearings, thus confusing the gunners and making it difficult for the ship to comb torpedo tracks.2010, Jim Crossley, Bismarck: The Epic Chase

See all 25 meanings of comb

Noun

coaming (plural coamings)

1. On a boat, the vertical side of above-deck structures, such as the coach roof, hatch, and cockpit.
2. A raised frame, designed to deflect or prevent entry of water, around an opening (e.g., a hatch or skylight) in a flat surface, such as a roof or deck.
   • Creepers threaded the wrecked windows of the coaches, ancient and chalky brown with their riveted seams and welted coamings like something proofed for descents into the sea.1979, Cormac McCarthy, Suttree, Random House, page 92