Climb

Pronunciation

• IPA: /klaɪm/
• Rhymes: -aɪm

Origin

From Middle English climben, from Old English climban ("to climb"), from Proto-Germanic *klimbaną ("to climb, go up by clinging"), believed to be a nasalised variant of Proto-Germanic *klibaną, *klibāną ("to stick, cleave"), from Proto-Indo-European *gley- ("to stick"). Cognate with West Frisian klimme ("to climb"), Dutch klimmen ("to climb"), German klimmen ("to climb"), Old Norse klembra ("to squeeze"), Icelandic klifra ("to climb"). Related to clamber. See also clay, glue.

Full definition of climb

Verb

1. (intransitive) To ascend; rise; to go up.Prices climbed steeply.
• DrydenBlack vapours climb aloft, and cloud the day.
2. (transitive) To mount; to move upwards on.They climbed the mountain.Climbing a tree
3. (transitive) To scale; to get to the top of something.
• 2010, May 22, David Harrison, American boy, 13, is youngest person to climb Everest, He is a curly-haired schoolboy barely in his teens, but 13-year-old Jordan Romero from California has become the youngest person to climb Mount Everest.
4. (transitive) To move (especially up and down something) by gripping with the hands and using the feet.
• 1900, James Frazer, The Golden Bough Chapter 65A priest clad in a white robe climbs the tree and with a golden sickle cuts the mistletoe, which is caught in a white cloth.
• 1900, L. Frank Baum, ''The Wonderful Wizard of OzShe thought she must have been mistaken at first, for none of the scarecrows in Kansas ever wink; but presently the figure nodded its head to her in a friendly way. Then she climbed down from the fence and walked up to it, while Toto ran around the pole and barked.
• 2008, Tony Atkins, Dragonhawk - the TurningCutter and Bolan climbed around the furniture and piled into the back of the truck.
5. (intransitive) to practise the sport of climbing
6. (intransitive) to jump high
• 2010, December 28, Paul Fletcher, Man City 4 - 0 Aston Villa, The defender climbed majestically at the near post to convert Johnson's corner.
• 2008, September 13, Ospreys Glasgow Magners League, As the game moved towards injury time, the Ospreys forced a line-out which Jonathan Thomas climbed high to take.
• 2001, December 29, Derick Allsop, Bolton's nine men hit back to steal a point, Four minutes of stoppage time were virtually up when Ricketts climbed to head in the equaliser from substitute Nicky Southall's centre.
7. To move to a higher position on the social ladder.
8. (botany) Of plants, to grow upwards by clinging to something.

Usage notes

In the past, the forms clomb and clumb were encountered as simple past and past participle forms; these forms are now archaic or dialectical.

Derived terms

Synonyms

• scale

Noun

1. An act of climbing.
• 2007, Nigel Shepherd, Complete Guide to Rope TechniquesMake sure that you keep checking to see that everything remains safe throughout the climb.
2. The act of getting to somewhere more elevated.
• 2012, July 15. Richard Williams in Guardian Unlimited, Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot force Bradley Wiggins off trackThe Mur de Péguère is a savage little climb, its last four kilometres a narrow tunnel of trees and excited spectators urging on the straining riders.
• 1999, B. Keith Jones, The Roomie Do Me BluesI guess the room wasn't so bad, except for the climb to get there. The stairs were destined to be a serious health hazard.
3. An upwards struggle
• 1998, September 30, AP, Worst May Lie Ahead For Asia, Report Warns, After a decade of prosperity, millions of Asians are likely to be pushed into poverty, and the climb out of poverty will stall for millions of others

Derived terms

• rate of climb