Dictionary
climb
Pronunciation: (klīm), [key]—
v.i.
1. to go up or ascend, esp. by using the hands and feet or feet only:
to climb up a ladder.
2. to rise slowly by or as if by continued effort:
The car laboriously climbed 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. to ascend by twining or by means of tendrils, adhesive tissues, etc., as a plant:
The ivy climbed to the roof.
6. to proceed or move by using the hands and feet, esp. 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.
—
v.t.
1. to ascend, go up, or get to the top of, esp. 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.
2. to go to the top of and over:
The prisoners climbed the wall and escaped.
3. climb down,
a. to descend, esp. by using both hands and feet.
b. to retreat, as from an indefensible opinion or position:
He was forced to climb down from his untenable position.
4. climb the walls. See
wall (def. 7).
—
n.
1. a climbing; an ascent by climbing:
It was a long climb to the top of the hill.
2. a place to be climbed:
That peak is quite a climb. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
