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
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Recent Examples of combing
Police are combing through a Chicago condo searching for clues in a double murder case that started more than 300 miles away.
—
Sara MacHi, CBS News, 12 Jan. 2026
Historical researcher Segtnan came across the 1948 murder of a 9-year-old girl, Birgitta Sivander, while combing newspaper archives.
—Rebecca Hannigan, PEOPLE, 10 Jan. 2026
Detectives spent the next weeks combing city cameras, which captured Gutierrez walking behind the man before the attack and running away after, the report said.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 10 Jan. 2026
After combing through all the data, the Holiday Happiness Index determined that Dubai is the sunniest holiday destination in the world.
—Madeline Weinfield, Travel + Leisure, 9 Jan. 2026
Instead, utilize the time by texting, doing your nails, combing your hair, or best of all, taking a midday siesta.
—Glae Thien, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Jan. 2026
Redd said investigators are combing through surveillance video from nearby businesses and looking at license plate readers on Redwood Road and 700 North.
—Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026
Information came pouring in second by second after a shooter first opened fire at Brown University, starting in chaos but trickling to a stall as authorities spent hours combing the campus for a suspect, call records from that day show.
—Doha Madani, NBC news, 31 Dec. 2025
By Wednesday morning, law enforcement officers and workers in protective clothing were combing the area in search of the missing animals.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025
Sara MacHi, CBS News, 12 Jan. 2026
Historical researcher Segtnan came across the 1948 murder of a 9-year-old girl, Birgitta Sivander, while combing newspaper archives.
—Rebecca Hannigan, PEOPLE, 10 Jan. 2026
Detectives spent the next weeks combing city cameras, which captured Gutierrez walking behind the man before the attack and running away after, the report said.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 10 Jan. 2026
After combing through all the data, the Holiday Happiness Index determined that Dubai is the sunniest holiday destination in the world.
—Madeline Weinfield, Travel + Leisure, 9 Jan. 2026
Instead, utilize the time by texting, doing your nails, combing your hair, or best of all, taking a midday siesta.
—Glae Thien, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Jan. 2026
Redd said investigators are combing through surveillance video from nearby businesses and looking at license plate readers on Redwood Road and 700 North.
—Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026
Information came pouring in second by second after a shooter first opened fire at Brown University, starting in chaos but trickling to a stall as authorities spent hours combing the campus for a suspect, call records from that day show.
—Doha Madani, NBC news, 31 Dec. 2025
By Wednesday morning, law enforcement officers and workers in protective clothing were combing the area in search of the missing animals.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for combing
searching
Verb
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Rescuers retrieved eight people alive and were searching for the missing still trapped after a huge mound of garbage and debris collapsed on them in the village of Binaliw in Cebu city, police said.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
9 Jan. 2026
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Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Wednesday that it had been notified that teams had recommenced searching for Ran Gvili.—
Wafaa Shurafa,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Combing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combing. Accessed 19 Jan. 2026.
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