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
Planetary scientist Jeff Plescia of Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory soon began to search the LROC imagery for Soviet landers, combing Oceanus Procellarum despite knowing that success was unlikely.
—
Ilya Ferapontov, Scientific American, 5 Feb. 2026
Pima County sheriffs and the FBI returned to Nancy Guthrie's home Wednesday evening, putting up crime scene tape and combing through the property.
—Sarah Lynch Baldwin, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
Officials have finished combing through Nancy Guthrie’s home and turned it back over to the family, Nanos said.
—Sarah Brumfield, Chicago Tribune, 4 Feb. 2026
On the other hand, authorities have to dedicate more resources to combing through incoming tips to determine which may be credible.
—Josh Campbell, CNN Money, 4 Feb. 2026
The latest federal campaign finance reports came in over the weekend and the Register team spent yesterday combing through them.
—Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register, 3 Feb. 2026
Footage obtained from nearby surveillance cameras — multiple officers were even now combing over the video at headquarters, all hands on deck — showed three figures taking the man away in what the deputies at first believed was the victim’s own white BMW X3 SUV.
—Scott Eden, Rolling Stone, 1 Feb. 2026
Be prepared that this show breaks the fourth wall, with performers combing the crowd and tossing balloons about.
—Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 1 Feb. 2026
Shoppers were largely unable to reconcile the in-store experience of shopping at a traditional retailer—where sizes and color ways are readily available—with combing through racks of vintage one-offs.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 30 Jan. 2026
Ilya Ferapontov, Scientific American, 5 Feb. 2026
Pima County sheriffs and the FBI returned to Nancy Guthrie's home Wednesday evening, putting up crime scene tape and combing through the property.
—Sarah Lynch Baldwin, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
Officials have finished combing through Nancy Guthrie’s home and turned it back over to the family, Nanos said.
—Sarah Brumfield, Chicago Tribune, 4 Feb. 2026
On the other hand, authorities have to dedicate more resources to combing through incoming tips to determine which may be credible.
—Josh Campbell, CNN Money, 4 Feb. 2026
The latest federal campaign finance reports came in over the weekend and the Register team spent yesterday combing through them.
—Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register, 3 Feb. 2026
Footage obtained from nearby surveillance cameras — multiple officers were even now combing over the video at headquarters, all hands on deck — showed three figures taking the man away in what the deputies at first believed was the victim’s own white BMW X3 SUV.
—Scott Eden, Rolling Stone, 1 Feb. 2026
Be prepared that this show breaks the fourth wall, with performers combing the crowd and tossing balloons about.
—Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 1 Feb. 2026
Shoppers were largely unable to reconcile the in-store experience of shopping at a traditional retailer—where sizes and color ways are readily available—with combing through racks of vintage one-offs.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 30 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for combing
searching
Verb
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Schacht, a lean clinical psychologist with boyish features, has spent much of his career searching for medications to treat alcohol addiction.—
Dhruv Khullar,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
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The bodycam video was an eye-opening look at the frightening aftermath of the Brown campus shooting when police were searching room-by-room for the suspect, trying to comfort and care for terrified students, and trying to coordinate with campus police to get past locked doors.—
Corky Siemaszko,
NBC news,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Combing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combing. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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