/ klaɪm; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
GO UP
1.
climb (up) (sth) to go up sth towards the top :
[ vn ]
to climb a mountain / hill / tree / wall
She climbed up the stairs.
The car slowly climbed the hill.
[ v ]
As they climbed higher, the air became cooler.
GO THROUGH / DOWN / OVER
2.
[ v + adv. / prep. ] to move somewhere, especially with difficulty or effort :
I climbed through the window.
Sue climbed into bed.
Can you climb down?
The boys climbed over the wall.
MOUNTAIN / ROCK, etc.
3.
go climbing to go up mountains or climb rocks as a hobby or sport :
He likes to go climbing most weekends.
AIRCRAFT / SUN, etc.
4.
[ v ] to go higher in the sky :
The plane climbed to 33 000 feet.
SLOPE UP
5.
[ v ] to slope upwards :
From here the path climbs steeply to the summit.
OF PLANTS
6.
[ v ] to grow up a wall or frame :
a climbing rose
INCREASE
7.
[ v ] ( of temperature, a country's money, etc. ) to increase in value or amount :
The dollar has been climbing all week.
The paper's circulation continues to climb.
IMPROVE POSITION / STATUS
8.
[ v ] to move to a higher position or social rank by your own effort :
In a few years he had climbed to the top of his profession.
The team has now climbed to fourth in the league.
•
IDIOMS
see bandwagon
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- climb down (over sth)
—related noun climbdown
■ noun
MOUNTAIN / STEPS
1.
an act of climbing up a mountain, rock or large number of steps; a period of time spent climbing :
an exhausting climb
It's an hour's climb to the summit.
2.
a mountain or rock which people climb up for sport :
Titan's Wall is the mountain's hardest rock climb.
INCREASE
3.
[ usually sing. ] an increase in value or amount :
the dollar's climb against the euro
TO A HIGHER POSITION OR STATUS
4.
[ usually sing. ] progress to a higher status, standard or position :
a rapid climb to stardom
the long slow climb out of the recession
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English climban , of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch and German klimmen , also to cleave to stick close to something .