to go up or ascend: [no object]The sun climbed over the hill.[~ + object]to climb the stairs.
[no object] to slope upward: The road climbs steeply.
to move on or proceed using the hands and feet, esp. on or from an elevated area: [~ + into + object]The bodyguards climbed quickly into the car.[~ + out of + object]We climbed out of the car.[~ + over + object]shot while trying to climb over the fence.[~ + along + object]He climbed along the ledge.[~ + object]The prisoners climbed the wall and escaped.
to ascend in fame or fortune:[no object]You can climb fairly high if you have money.
(of numbers, etc.) to rise or increase in value:[no object]Prices climbed by as much as fifty cents a share today.
to go up or ascend, esp. by using the hands and feet or feet only:to climb up a ladder.
to rise slowly by or as if by continued effort:The car laboriously climbed to the top of the mountain.
to ascend or rise:The plane climbed rapidly and we were soon at 35,000 feet. Temperatures climbed into the 80s yesterday.
to slope upward:The road climbs steeply up to the house.
to ascend by twining or by means of tendrils, adhesive tissues, etc., as a plant:The ivy climbed to the roof.
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.
to ascend in prominence, fortune, etc.:From lowly beginnings he climbed to the highest office in the land.
v.t.
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.
to go to the top of and over:The prisoners climbed the wall and escaped.
climb down:
to descend, esp. by using both hands and feet.
to retreat, as from an indefensible opinion or position:He was forced to climb down from his untenable position.
climb the walls. See wall (def. 7).
n.
a climbing; an ascent by climbing:It was a long climb to the top of the hill.
a place to be climbed:That peak is quite a climb.
bef. 1000; Middle English climben, Old English climban; cognate with Dutch, German klimmen; akin to clamber
climb′a•ble, adj.
8.See corresponding entry in UnabridgedClimb,ascend,mount,scale imply a moving upward. Toclimb 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.
1, 8.See corresponding entry in Unabridged descend.