as in searching
to look through (as a place) carefully or thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something
combed the library for the missing book
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of combing
Investigators would spend weeks building their case, combing through nearly 7,000 texts exchanged over the three months before Harold died.
—
Peter Van Sant, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2026
After combing through Blue Hills’ finances and internal records, however, the auditors found several other serious problems with how the nonprofit spent millions of dollars in state taxpayer money.
—Andrew Brown, Hartford Courant, 3 Apr. 2026
That meant spending countless hours combing through online databases to pick out features from photos of tiny pieces found scattered across the continent over the past century.
—Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 2 Apr. 2026
Volunteers have been combing hiking trails, canvassing neighborhoods and checking in with local businesses in hopes of finding any trace of Hillyard.
—Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 31 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile in Tehran, rescue workers were combing through rubble Friday morning trying to find survivors after overnight strikes there.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 27 Mar. 2026
And if the idea of combing through your spending history gives you the ick, plug your info into a financial app like Quicken Simplifi.
—Harlan Vaughn, CNBC, 23 Mar. 2026
The strike caused an intense fire at the hospital, with footage from local television showing rescue crews combing through the wreckage with flashlights late into the night as firefighters struggled to extinguish the blaze.
—Arkansas Online, 19 Mar. 2026
The strike caused an intense fire at the hospital, with footage from local television showing rescue crews combing through the wreckage with flashlights late into the night as firefighters struggled to extinguish the blaze.
—Abdul Qahar Afghan, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
Peter Van Sant, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2026
After combing through Blue Hills’ finances and internal records, however, the auditors found several other serious problems with how the nonprofit spent millions of dollars in state taxpayer money.
—Andrew Brown, Hartford Courant, 3 Apr. 2026
That meant spending countless hours combing through online databases to pick out features from photos of tiny pieces found scattered across the continent over the past century.
—Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 2 Apr. 2026
Volunteers have been combing hiking trails, canvassing neighborhoods and checking in with local businesses in hopes of finding any trace of Hillyard.
—Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 31 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile in Tehran, rescue workers were combing through rubble Friday morning trying to find survivors after overnight strikes there.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 27 Mar. 2026
And if the idea of combing through your spending history gives you the ick, plug your info into a financial app like Quicken Simplifi.
—Harlan Vaughn, CNBC, 23 Mar. 2026
The strike caused an intense fire at the hospital, with footage from local television showing rescue crews combing through the wreckage with flashlights late into the night as firefighters struggled to extinguish the blaze.
—Arkansas Online, 19 Mar. 2026
The strike caused an intense fire at the hospital, with footage from local television showing rescue crews combing through the wreckage with flashlights late into the night as firefighters struggled to extinguish the blaze.
—Abdul Qahar Afghan, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for combing
searching
Verb
-
Police in New Jersey are searching for a vandal who threw bricks through the windows of vehicles parked on streets in at least two Union County towns.—
Allen Devlin,
CBS News,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Its reappearance on the literary scene comes at a time when younger generations, who may be naive to MI theory, are searching for new ways to be defined.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
6 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Combing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combing. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
