<B>combite, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a form of cooperative farm work in Haiti, in which a group of neighbors help another work his field to the accompaniment of drums and singing. </DL>
<A NAME="combjelly">
<B>comb jelly,</B> <B>=ctenophore.</B></DL>
<A NAME="combo">
<B>combo, </B>noun, pl. <B>-bos.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Informal.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a group of musicians playing together regularly, usually smaller than a band or orchestra. <BR> <I>Ex. a jazz combo, a four-piece dance combo.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>combination. <BR> <I>Ex. ... such desirable combos as lichens and infected pansies (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="combout">
<B>comb-out, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a combing or dressing of the hair. <DD><B> 2. </B>the act of combing, searching, or clearing out. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) Security forces have already killed or captured about 40 of the infiltrators and the comb-out continues (Observer).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="combrat">
<B>comb rat,</B> <B>=ctenodactyl.</B></DL>
<A NAME="combretaceous">
<B>combretaceous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> belonging to a family of tropical shrubs and trees yielding tanning and dyeing materials. </DL>
<A NAME="combust">
<B>combust, </B>verb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> to burn up; set ablaze. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) All Germany was combusted with great troubles (Thomas Milles).</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to burn up; flame out; blaze forth. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) The government crisis ... combusted against the looming background of the Common Market negotiations (New Yorker).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> (Astrology.) so near the sun as to be obscured by it. <BR> <I>Ex. a combust planet.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="combustibility">
<B>combustibility, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> combustible quality or condition; inflammability. </DL>
<A NAME="combustible">
<B>combustible, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>capable of taking fire and burning; easy to burn; burnable. <BR> <I>Ex. Gasoline is highly combustible.</I> (SYN) inflammable, flammable. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) easily excited; fiery. (SYN) excitable. <DD><I>noun </I> a combustible substance. Wood and coal are combustibles. noun <B>combustibleness.</B> adv. <B>combustibly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="combustion">
<B>combustion, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act or process of burning; consumption or destruction by fire. Many houses are heated by combustion of coal, oil, or gas. <BR> <I>Ex. The explosion in the coal mine was caused by the combustion of gases.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Chemistry.) <DD><B> a. </B>rapid oxidation accompanied by heat and light, for example, when hydrogen burns in the atmosphere. <BR> <I>Ex. The majority of the examples of combustion encountered by the average man are those of the rapid oxidation of easily ignited materials by atmospheric oxygen (W. N. Jones).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>chemical combination attended by heat and light. <DD><B> 3. </B>slow oxidation not accompanied by high temperature and light. Food is transformed into energy in an animal body by this type of combustion. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) violent excitement; tumult; confusion. (SYN) commotion, disorder, hubbub. </DL>
<A NAME="combustionchamber">
<B>combustion chamber,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the chamber in which fuel is burned in an internal-combustion or jet engine, furnace, or rocket. </DL>
<A NAME="combustive">
<B>combustive, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having to do with or characterized by combustion. </DL>
<A NAME="combustor">
<B>combustor, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the combustion chamber of a jet engine. </DL>
