as in searched
to look through (as a place) carefully or thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something
combed the library for the missing book
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in groomed
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Recent Examples of combed
Sean Neumann, People.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Before school, her mom combed her hair and set it into pony tails.
—Brad Schmitt, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
Inspired by these adhesive abilities, researchers combed through catalogs of these animals’ protein structures to mimic their stickiest features.
—Andrea Tamayo, Scientific American, 8 Aug. 2025
One hand is on the man’s waist, his dark hair is combed back and his gaze is fixed to the side, a smile on his face.
—Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 4 Aug. 2025
Diamant and Kafka combed the park for it to no avail.
—Carlos Valladares, ARTnews.com, 3 Jan. 2025
Even better, the researchers at GreenLight Biosciences combed through bioinformatic databases to find just the right gene to disrupt to avoid collateral damage to honeybees and other harmless species.
—Andrew Rosenblum, Popular Science, 26 Dec. 2024
Last year, Winter combed through the archives and picked out his favorite moments from four decades of solstice celebrations.
—Rachel Treisman, NPR, 20 Dec. 2024
Advertisement Researchers and journalists combed through the videos and identified 288 people — including seven women and 12 children — who were killed.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2024
Adjective
Gilkey-Meisegeier was fired from his position at the school in early June and wasn’t arrested until more than a month later as investigators combed through evidence and built charges against him, according to WMTV.
—Sean Neumann, People.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Before school, her mom combed her hair and set it into pony tails.
—Brad Schmitt, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
Inspired by these adhesive abilities, researchers combed through catalogs of these animals’ protein structures to mimic their stickiest features.
—Andrea Tamayo, Scientific American, 8 Aug. 2025
One hand is on the man’s waist, his dark hair is combed back and his gaze is fixed to the side, a smile on his face.
—Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 4 Aug. 2025
Diamant and Kafka combed the park for it to no avail.
—Carlos Valladares, ARTnews.com, 3 Jan. 2025
Even better, the researchers at GreenLight Biosciences combed through bioinformatic databases to find just the right gene to disrupt to avoid collateral damage to honeybees and other harmless species.
—Andrew Rosenblum, Popular Science, 26 Dec. 2024
Last year, Winter combed through the archives and picked out his favorite moments from four decades of solstice celebrations.
—Rachel Treisman, NPR, 20 Dec. 2024
Advertisement Researchers and journalists combed through the videos and identified 288 people — including seven women and 12 children — who were killed.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for combed
Verb
-
Every bag and piece of equipment that comes through security on Sunday will be scanned and thoroughly searched.—
Adam Zagoria,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Six officers searched their residence, and the couple were detained for eight hours over a spat with Cowley Hill Primary School.—
Benjamin Weinthal,
FOXNews.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Coming to their apparent rescue are groomed, muscular men in polished videos, smoking cigars, sitting in private jets, doing push ups and whispering that men’s pain is because of women.—
Will Carless,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
-
The rest of her daily makeup routine entails filling in her brows with BabyBlade Brow Pencil and FeatherFix Liquid Brow Gel, in Crystal Clear, to keep them groomed and stay in place all day.—
Celia Shatzman,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Ekstrom had founded and sold her 7-figure social impact company, Headbands of Hope.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
-
The company was founded by a Xavier University graduate, Peter Klekamp, in 2001 as a real estate management firm focused on multifamily and industrial properties.—
Randy Tucker,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Reid is also meticulous with focusing on details, and Kansas City is usually better in this area than its opponents.—
Jesse Newell,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Paul Greengrass and Blumhouse might seem like an odd mix, the former perhaps best known for his meticulous, sensitive docudramas, the latter most famous for low-budget, high-yield genre movies.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Paper tickets have become rarer, as digital tickets are scanned in at venues everywhere.—
Arpan Lobo,
Freep.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Every bag and piece of equipment that comes through security on Sunday will be scanned and thoroughly searched.—
Adam Zagoria,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Both coaches and players have been respectful of the other team all week, careful not to produce any bulletin board material.—
Tom Murphy,
Arkansas Online,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Ben Lewis Doherty, playing a boy named Sam whose life is upended by Robbie, is the show’s greatest innocent, a softhearted moppet who warns deer to be careful when crossing the street.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Combed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combed. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.
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