climb
/ˈklaɪ̯m/verb, noun
climb is spelled C-L-I-M-B: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,934th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, climb means “To traverse a slope or contour, either upwards (ascending) or downwards (descending)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in climb?
| Letters | 5: C-L-I-M-B |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 17 times per million words; the 4,934th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is climb?
Climb appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,934th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce climb?
- /ˈklaɪ̯m/
- [ˈkʰl̥aɪ̯m]
Climb has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-climb.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of climb
- climbs present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- climbing participle, present
- climbed past, participle, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does climb mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To traverse a slope or contour, either upwards (ascending) or downwards (descending).
- 2
(literally or figuratively): To ascend; rise; to go up.
- 3
To ascend in a non-physical or figurative sense.
The hit song has climbed to the number one spot.
- 4
To move to a higher position on a chart or hierarchy.
Prices climbed steeply.
- 5
To mount; to move upwards on.
climbing a tree
- 6
To scale; to get to the top of something.
- 7
To enter, mount or otherwise assume a position in or on a conveyance.
He climbed into the passenger-seat of the car.
- 8
To move (especially up and down something) by gripping with the hands and using the feet.
My legs were so stiff and my arms so sore that this morning I could barely climb out of bed.
noun
- 1
An act of climbing.
- 2
The act of getting to somewhere more elevated.
- 3
An effort of moving upward.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Climb in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | grimper, monter , escalader, gravir , montée |
| German | klettern, steigen , aufsteigen |
| Portuguese | subir , escalar , escalada, subida, ascensão , trepar |
| Spanish | escalar, subir , trepar, esquilar, esguilar , subida |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does climb come from?
From Middle English climben, clymben, from Old English climban (“to climb”), from Proto-West Germanic *klimban, from Proto-Germanic *klimbaną (“to climb, go up by clinging”), believed to be a nasalised variant of Proto-Germanic *klibaną, *klibāną (“to stick, cleave”), from Proto-Indo-European *gley- (“to stick”). Cognate with West Frisian klimme (“to climb”), Dutch klimmen (“to climb”), German klimmen (“to climb”), Old Norse klembra (“to squeeze”), Icelandic klifra (“to climb”). Related to clamber. See also clay, glue.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).