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
The day after a man opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, authorities are combing through a message sent by the shooting suspect, seeking to understand what allegedly led him from his life as a respected California teacher to a would-be assassin.
—
Alayna Treene, CNN Money, 26 Apr. 2026
Investigators are now combing through a hotel room at the Washington Hilton.
—CBS News, 26 Apr. 2026
This was determined by combing through each of the 30 Big League teams' subreddits on social media platform Reddit and determining the percentage of comments that contained an expletive.
—Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2026
Today, the grimmest of tasks continues — confirming the crash toll by combing the Everglades debris.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 21 Apr. 2026
Instead, the stylish couple spent the construction years combing through vintage markets, building a concept that’s classic, but singular and a little subversive.
—Regan Stephens, Travel + Leisure, 20 Apr. 2026
One way to tackle the show at the Met is to go from start to finish, diligently combing through all two hundred and thirty-seven pieces by Raphael and his wider circle.
—Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
After that check was delivered to the state Department of Social Services office in Hartford, the audit into Zervas’ optometry practice was dropped, which prevented state auditors from combing through her records and potentially clawing back even more money for the state.
—Dave Altimari, Hartford Courant, 20 Apr. 2026
Dozens of first responders are combing the southern Colorado mountains for a missing 27-year-old Salida man who went hunting on Wednesday afternoon and never returned, according to Chaffee County officials.
—Katie Langford, Denver Post, 18 Apr. 2026
Alayna Treene, CNN Money, 26 Apr. 2026
Investigators are now combing through a hotel room at the Washington Hilton.
—CBS News, 26 Apr. 2026
This was determined by combing through each of the 30 Big League teams' subreddits on social media platform Reddit and determining the percentage of comments that contained an expletive.
—Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2026
Today, the grimmest of tasks continues — confirming the crash toll by combing the Everglades debris.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 21 Apr. 2026
Instead, the stylish couple spent the construction years combing through vintage markets, building a concept that’s classic, but singular and a little subversive.
—Regan Stephens, Travel + Leisure, 20 Apr. 2026
One way to tackle the show at the Met is to go from start to finish, diligently combing through all two hundred and thirty-seven pieces by Raphael and his wider circle.
—Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
After that check was delivered to the state Department of Social Services office in Hartford, the audit into Zervas’ optometry practice was dropped, which prevented state auditors from combing through her records and potentially clawing back even more money for the state.
—Dave Altimari, Hartford Courant, 20 Apr. 2026
Dozens of first responders are combing the southern Colorado mountains for a missing 27-year-old Salida man who went hunting on Wednesday afternoon and never returned, according to Chaffee County officials.
—Katie Langford, Denver Post, 18 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for combing
searching
Verb
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By my count, that would leave the Rangers searching for three forwards and two defensemen, plus a new backup goalie.—
Vincent Z. Mercogliano,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
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That's because people like the Warneskys, who are seeking to rebuild in disaster-prone regions, are searching for greater peace of mind.—
Vanessa Romo,
NPR,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Combing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combing. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026.
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