ENGLISH
REFERENCE

combed

v.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈkoʊmd// UK //kˈəʊmd// combed

v. to search through something very carefully to find what you are looking for. You might do this when looking for a lost item or checking for mistakes in a document.

v. to search through something systematically and thoroughly in order to find a specific item or detail. Often used in the passive voice to describe the process of a search.


SIMPLE

The police combed the area for the missing keys.

CONTEXTUAL

The editor combed through the manuscript to find any small spelling errors before the final print.

COMPLEX

After the storm, the rescue teams combed the coastline for any signs of the missing vessel, using both drones and traditional search methods.

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