climb

[klahym]

verb (used without object)

1. to go up or ascend, especially by using the hands and feet or feet only.

   She climbed up the ladder.

   Antonyms: descend

2. to rise slowly by or as if by continued effort.

   The car climbed laboriously to the top of the mountain.

3. to ascend or rise.

   The plane climbed rapidly and we were soon at 35,000 feet.

   Temperatures climbed into the 80s yesterday.

4. to slope upward.

   The road climbs steeply up to the house.

5. (of a plant) to ascend by twining or by means of tendrils, adhesive tissues, etc..

   The ivy climbed to the roof.

6. to proceed or move by using the hands and feet, especially on an elevated place; crawl.

   to climb along a branch;

   to climb around on the roof.

7. to ascend in prominence, fortune, etc..

   From lowly beginnings he climbed to the highest office in the land.

verb (used with object)

1. to ascend, go up, or get to the top of, especially by the use of the hands and feet or feet alone or by continuous or strenuous effort.

   to climb a rope;

   to climb the stairs;

   to climb a mountain.

   Antonyms: descend

2. to go to the top of and over.

   The prisoners climbed the wall and escaped.

noun

1. a climbing; an ascent by climbing.

   It was a long climb to the top of the hill.

   Antonyms: descent

2. a place to be climbed.

   That peak is quite a climb.

verb phrase

1. climb down

   1. to descend, especially by using both hands and feet.

      She climbed down from the treehouse and went to wash up for supper.

   2. Chiefly British.,  to retreat from a policy, opinion, position in a debate, etc..

      He climbed down from that argument once he saw that it was based on incorrect data.

2. climb the walls,  to become tense or frantic.

   After a week stuck inside the house, the kids were climbing the walls.

climb

/ klaɪm /

verb

1. to go up or ascend (stairs, a mountain, etc)

2. (often foll by along) to progress with difficulty

   to climb along a ledge

3. to rise to a higher point or intensity

   the temperature climbed

4. to incline or slope upwards

   the road began to climb

5. to ascend in social position

6. (of plants) to grow upwards by twining, using tendrils or suckers, etc

7. informal,  (foll by into) to put (on) or get (into)

8. to be a climber or mountaineer

noun

1. the act or an instance of climbing

2. a place or thing to be climbed, esp a route in mountaineering

Other Word Forms

• climbable adjective
• half-climbing adjective
• nonclimbable adjective
• nonclimbing adjective
• reclimb verb (used with object)
• unclimbable adjective
• unclimbed adjective
• unclimbing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of climb¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English climben, Old English climban; cognate with Dutch, German klimmen; akin to clamber

Word History and Origins

Origin of climb¹

Old English climban; related to Old Norse klembra to squeeze, Old High German climban to clamber

Synonym Study

Climb, ascend, mount, scale imply a moving upward. To climb is to make one's way upward, often with effort: to climb a mountain. Ascend, in its literal meaning (“to go up”), is general, but it now usually suggests a gradual or stately movement, with or without effort, often to a considerable degree of altitude: to ascend the heights; to ascend the Himalayas. Mount may be interchangeable with ascend, but also suggests climbing on top of or astride of: to mount a platform, a horse. Scale, a more literary word, implies difficult or hazardous climbing up or over something: to scale a summit.

Example Sentences

He climbed into his sleeping bag without dinner, because he knew it was more important to warm up before the cold of night descended than it was to eat.

From Los Angeles Times

Ending the series by showing her opening the hatch, pulling down the ladder and climbing up lets us know she’s found peace.

From Salon

Here, promoted to number four, he climbed into the South African spinners with five fours and three sixes.

From BBC

The UK was not alone in seeing borrowing costs rise earlier in the week, with yields on 30-year German, French and Dutch bonds climbing to their highest since 2011.

From BBC

Meanwhile, videos posted on social media show people climbing lampposts with a ladder to cut down flags which had been put up in Maryhill, Glasgow.

From BBC

Related Words

• ascend 
• clamber 
• go up 
• mount 
• rise 
• scale 
• soar 
• top