— climbable , adj.
/kluym/ , 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.
8. 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.
9. to go to the top of and over: The prisoners climbed the wall and escaped.
10. 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.
11. climb the walls . See wall (def. 7).
n.
12. a climbing; an ascent by climbing: It was a long climb to the top of the hill.
13. a place to be climbed: That peak is quite a climb.
[ bef. 1000; ME climben, OE climban; c. D, G klimmen; akin to CLAMBER ]
Syn. 8. 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.
Ant. 1, 8. descend. 12. descent.