climb

Formsclimbs, climbing, climbed

Pluralclimbs

1. 1
   verbintransitive

   To move or rise upward to a higher position.

   The trail climbs steeply for the first mile.

   Temperatures climb sharply in the afternoon.

   Similarrise, ascend, mount, increase

   Oppositedescend, fall, drop, sink

   Note

   Anything that rises can do it, not only a person with hands and feet. Black vapors climb aloft in Dryden's 1697 translation of Virgil, prices climb steeply, and a railway line climbs into the wild country of Rannoch Moor. Adverbs of rate and direction such as steeply and aloft are its natural partners. The usual past is climbed, while clomb survives only as an archaic past and past participle.

2. 2
   verbtransitive

   To move up or down something by gripping with the hands and pushing with the feet.

   Mountaineers climb sheer rock faces using only their hands and feet.

   She climbed the cliff carefully, testing each grip.

   Similarscale, ascend

   Note

   Here the word's oldest meaning shows through. Old English climban goes back to a Germanic verb for going up by clinging, which is linked to a root meaning "to stick." Because the grip matters more than the direction, the verb readily takes down, out and around. You can climb down from a fence, out of bed or around the furniture without rising at all.

3. 3
   verbtransitive

   To move upward along or onto something.

   The hikers climb the steep path toward the summit.

   She climbed the staircase to the upper floor.

   Similarascend, mount, scale

   Oppositedescend

4. 4
   verbtransitive

   To make one's way to the top of something.

   Only experienced teams climb the world's highest peaks.

   She climbed Everest the year she turned forty.

   Similarscale, ascend, conquer

   Oppositedescend

5. 5
   nouncountable

   An instance of going up something, such as a hill, rock, or wall.

   The final climb to the ridge tested everyone's strength.

   She logged several climbs in her notebook that summer.

   Similarascent

   Oppositedescent

6. 6
   verbtransitive or intransitive

   To rise to a higher position on a chart, ranking, or scale.

   The novel climbed steadily up the bestseller list.

   New releases often climb the charts faster than older songs.

   Similarrise, ascend

   Oppositefall, drop, slip, slide

7. 7
   verbintransitive

   To rise to a higher rank or standing in society.

   Ambitious clerks climbed through the social ranks of Victorian London.

   Some marry in order to climb into a wealthier class.

   Similarrise, advance

   Oppositefall, sink

8. 8
   verbintransitive

   To practice the sport of ascending rocks, cliffs, or artificial walls.

   She climbs competitively and travels to events across the country.

   Many people climb to challenge themselves and stay fit.

9. 9
   nouncountable

   The strenuous effort involved in moving to a higher point.

   The slow climb up the icy slope demanded every ounce of strength.

   It was a grueling climb, and her legs ached by the top.

   Similarslog, ascent, haul

10. 10
    nouncountable

    The act of making one's way to a more elevated place.

    The climb to the summit rewarded them with a sweeping view.

    A gentle climb led the pilgrims up to the hilltop shrine.

    Similarascent

    Oppositedescent

    Note

    Cycling and hill country turn the act into a place. A climb can also be the stretch of road or path that rises. Richard Williams's Tour de France report of 2012 calls the Mur de Péguère "a savage little climb," its last four kilometers a tunnel of trees. Adjectives of severity and length fit it naturally, as does the everyday phrase the climb to get there.

11. 11
    verbintransitive

    Of a plant, to grow upward by clinging to a support such as a wall or trellis.

    Wild grapevines climb toward the light, wrapping around any branch they reach.

    Morning glory climbs up the trellis within a few weeks.

    Similarcreep, twine, grow

    Note

    Botany uses the verb for plants that cannot hold themselves up. Instead of building self-supporting woody growth, they attach to a support with tendrils, twining stems or adventitious roots. It is the plant world's version of the gripping sense, and it sits closest of all to the word's Germanic core of going up by clinging.

12. 12
    verbintransitive

    To jump high, rising well above the ground.

    The forward climbed highest to meet the corner kick.

    Good center-backs climb well in crowded penalty areas.

    Similarrise, jump, leap

    Note

    A sportswriter's verb for the leap that wins a ball in the air. Football reports have a defender climb at the near post, or a player climb to head in an equalizer. In rugby a forward climbs high to take a line-out. It usually comes with a purpose clause (climbed to head, climbed to take) or with high and highest.

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