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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

toothcomb.

A comb with finely spaced teeth, chiefly as a metaphorical means of making a thorough search.

9 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈtuːθkəʊm/Received-Pronunciation/ˈtuθˌkoʊm/General-American
  1. A comb with finely spaced teeth, chiefly as a metaphorical means of making a thorough search.

    figuratively · proscribed · sometimes
    The police went through all his possessions with a toothcomb.
Where this word comes from

The noun is derived from fine toothcomb, a rebracketing of fine-tooth comb. The verb is derived from the noun.

verb/ˈtuːθkəʊm/Received-Pronunciation/ˈtuθˌkoʊm/General-American
  1. To use a toothcomb on (something).

    UK · proscribed · rare · sometimes · transitive
  2. To search (something) thoroughly.

    UK · figuratively · proscribed · sometimes · transitive
    The flat was toothcombed for any trace of drugs.
Where this word comes from

The noun is derived from fine toothcomb, a rebracketing of fine-tooth comb. The verb is derived from the noun.

noun/ˈtuːθkəʊm/Received-Pronunciation/ˈtuθˌkoʊm/General-American
  1. A comb-like dental structure found in the lower jaws of certain primates consisting of long, flat front teeth with microscopic grooves, which are used for grooming fur.

    UK · proscribed · sometimes · transitive
Where this word comes from

From tooth + comb.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.