How to use comb in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, verb

Comb means a toothed implement for grooming the hair or (formerly) for keeping it in place. Example: “Police combed the field for evidence after the assault.”

Examples of comb by meaning

nounA toothed implement for grooming the hair or (formerly) for keeping it in place.

There was also hairdressing: hairdressing, too, really was hairdressing in those times — no running a comb through it and that was that.1977, Agatha Christie, chapter 4, in An Autobiography, part II, London: Collins, →ISBN

nounA ctene.

Ctenophores are mostly planktonic creatures about the size and shape of a kiwi fruit or grape, bearing rows of beating "combs."2001, Julian Sprung, Invertebrates: A Quick Reference Guide, page 35

verbTo search thoroughly as if raking over an area with a comb.

Police combed the field for evidence after the assault.
The search party, consisting of family and friends, combed the woods and the survey site thoroughly.2026 August 23, Aniket Chaughule, “Christopher Thompkins Vanished From a Georgia Survey Site in 2002. His Coworkers Were Only 50 Feet...

verbTo 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
Repulse combed the torpedo wakes and knocked down two of the attackers.2013, Steve Backer, British Battlecruisers of the Second World War, page 10

More sentences with comb

He ran a comb through his mop and hurried out the door.From the entry mop
The teasing of her curls took nearly an hour with the fine-tooth comb.From the entry teasing
I had to deflea our cat with a flea comb, even though it wears a flea collar.From the entry deflea
They went through everything with a fine-toothed comb, searching the place top to bottom.From the entry top to bottom
We've finally combed out this list by removing the newly ineligible people from it.From the entry comb out
A metal comb shed her golden hair.From the entry shed
The police went through his possessions with a fine-tooth comb.From the entry fine-tooth comb
Straighten out your necktie and comb your hair.From the entry straighten out
I combed out the tangles in my hair. I combed them all out with that fancy comb that Ashley gave me.From the entry comb out
She comb the horse down last night.From the entry comb down
She really combed me down about that.From the entry comb down
Police combed his flat for clues.From the entry for
Then you would kneel and smear a handful of pomade through my hair, comb it over.2019, Ocean Vuong, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, New York: Penguin. From the entry smear
Plain morions with riveted rims, none of your apprentice piece Spanish combs.2018, Nicholas Carter, Black Tom's Red Army, Canelo, →ISBN. From the entry lobster pot
Far away, a satellite-guided agribiz monster, practically robotic, combs through the rolling fields.2018, Richard Powers, The Overstory, Toronto: Vintage Canada. From the entry agribiz
Comb the back alleys and clamber up to the Festung Hohensalzburg, the castle to outpomp all castles.2018, Mark Baker, Korina Miller, Lonely Planet Europe on a shoestring. From the entry outpomp
Fungus comb also serves as food source, especially in adverse climatic conditions or when food is scarce.2018, Omkar, Pests and Their Management, page 928. From the entry fungus comb
Finally, any nitty survivors are meticulously combed out, strand by strand.2017 December 17, Susannah Constantine, “Susannah Constantine’s unusual nit infestation gets treated by head vacuum”, in The New Zealand…. From the entry nitty
Feng-huang has the head and the comb of a pheasant and the tail of a peacock.2016, Pamela Ball, “The Physical Practice of Tao”, in The Essence of Tao, London: Arcturus Publishing Limited, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 172. From the entry feng-huang
Combs took a sip of his coffee and recoiled, forgetting how hot it was.2015, Anthony Tyler, A Cold Dead Place, →ISBN. From the entry a magician never reveals his secrets
His hair is combed tightly to a pigtail and he grins at me unshavenly.2013, Petra Mettke, Karin Mettke-Schröder, Michael, volume 1, page 208. From the entry unshavenly
I got out my Palinesque reading glasses, and we combed through the small print.2011, Catherine Herridge, The Next Wave: On the Hunt for Al Qaeda's American Recruits, Crown Forum, →ISBN, page 95. From the entry Palinesque
Len took a comb from his trouser pocket and ran it through his hair.2011 February 3, Sarah Waters, The Night Watch, Hachette UK, →ISBN. From the entry spivvily
A scutching machine pulls out the linen fibers, which are then hackled or carded and combed.2007, Karla J. Nielson, Interior Textiles: Fabrics, Application, and Historic Style, →ISBN, page 41. From the entry tow linen
This enzyme might be responsible for the degradation of phenolics in the fungus comb.2006, Helmut König, Ajit Varma, Intestinal Microorganisms of Termites and Other Invertebrates, page 346. From the entry fungus comb
Mavis presentable now—washed, combed, aspirined and swimming a little in Birdie’s housedress.1997, Toni Morrison, Paradise, Plume, published 1999, →ISBN, page 30. From the entry aspirined
I began to dress and comb my hair in the pachuco style of the day.1984 February 4, David Morris, “Different Origins: Joto Güero del West Side”, in Gay Community News, volume 11, number 28, page 15. From the entry pachuco
There is no reason to doubt that the tooth comb is homologous in all the lemuriforms.1979, Frederick S. Szalay, Eric Delson, “Suborder Strepsirhini”, in Evolutionary History of the Primates, New York, N.Y.; London: Academic…. From the entry toothcomb
Do not overcomb the hair; comb it only enough to keep it smooth and well groomed.1976, Mary Milo, Guide to Beauty, page 17. From the entry overcomb
Beretless, his bullet-gray hair was combed straight back and curled over his shirt collar.1976, Scott Spencer, chapter 3, in Preservation Hall: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN, page 24. From the entry beretless
Most minis hardly hold more than mad money and a comb.1975 November 10, “Baglets”, in Time. From the entry mad money
This example is a primitive burnished earthenware with chattered vertical comb lines.[1973 May, Mino Yutaka, “Liao Dynasty Ceramics at China House Gallery New York”, in The Connoisseur, volume 183, number 735, The National…. From the entry Chifeng
Steve Randle was seventeen, tall and lean, with thick greasy hair he kept combed in complicated swirls.1967, S. E. Hinton, The Outsiders. From the entry tacky
"Woke up, fell out of bed, dragged a comb across my head"1967, John Lennon/Paul McCartney, A Day in the Life. From the entry wake up

Meaning of comb

noun A toothed implement for grooming the hair or (formerly) for keeping it in place.
noun A machine used in separating choice cotton fibers from worsted cloth fibers.
noun The toothed plate at the top and bottom of an escalator that prevents objects getting trapped between the moving stairs and fixed landings.

Full definition of comb

Questions about comb in a sentence

How do you use comb in a sentence?: Comb is used as a noun and verb. For example: “Police combed the field for evidence after the assault.”
What is a short sentence with comb?: “Police combed his flat for clues.”
What does comb mean?: Comb means a toothed implement for grooming the hair or (formerly) for keeping it in place.

Adapted from Wiktionary: comb (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use comb in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/comb. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.