Word.ws English Dictionary

fine-tooth combs

fine-tooth combs is the plural of fine-tooth comb.

Meaning of fine-tooth comb

Noun

fine-tooth comb (plural fine-tooth combs)

  1. A comb with fine, closely spaced teeth, especially one used for removing head lice and their nits (eggs) from the hair; a nit comb.
    • The practice of combing the heads of children too frequently with a fine tooth comb is a bad one, as the points of the teeth are quite sure to scratch and irritate the scalp, and are almost sure to produce scurf or dandruff.1858, Lola Montez, The Arts of Beauty, Chapter 21
    Synonyms:
    toothcomb
  2. (figuratively) A means of making a thorough search.
    • The police went through his possessions with a fine-tooth comb.
    Synonyms:
    toothcomb

See all 4 meanings of fine-tooth comb

Questions about fine-tooth combs

What is fine-tooth combs the plural of?
Fine-tooth combs is the plural of fine-tooth comb.

Words near fine-tooth combs in the dictionary

  1. fine-tooth comb
  2. fine-tooth comb test
  3. fine-tooth comb tests
  4. fine-tooth combed
  5. fine-tooth combing
  6. fine-tooth combs
  7. fine-toothed
  8. fine-toothed comb
  9. fine-toothed combs
  10. fine-tune
  11. fine-tuned

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: fine-tooth combs (page history and authors); fine-tooth comb (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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