comb vs rake

comb

noun
  • A toothed tool used for chasing screws on work in a lathe; a chaser. 

  • A toothed implement for grooming the hair or (formerly) for keeping it in place. 

  • A toothed plate used for creating wells in agar gels for electrophoresis. 

  • A connected and reduced curve with irreducible components consisting of a smooth subcurve (called the handle) and one or more additional irreducible components (called teeth) that each intersect the handle in a single point that is unequal to the unique point of intersection for any of the other teeth. 

  • A fleshy growth on the top of the head of some birds and reptiles; crest. 

  • The notched scale of a wire micrometer. 

  • An old English measure of corn equal to the half quarter. 

  • The main body of a harmonica containing the air chambers and to which the reed plates are attached. 

  • A former, commonly cone-shaped, used in hat manufacturing for hardening soft fibre. 

  • The top part of a gun’s stock. 

  • The toothed plate at the top and bottom of an escalator that prevents objects getting trapped between the moving stairs and fixed landings. 

  • A toothed wooden pick used to push the weft thread tightly against the previous pass of thread to create a tight weave. 

  • The curling crest of a wave; a comber. 

  • A crest (of metal, leather, etc) on a piece of armor, especially on a helmet. 

  • A structure of hexagon cells made by bees for storing honey; honeycomb. 

  • One of a pair of peculiar organs on the base of the abdomen in scorpions, with which they comb substrate. 

  • The collector of an electrical machine, usually resembling a comb. 

  • A machine used in separating choice cotton fibers from worsted cloth fibers. 

verb
  • To search thoroughly as if raking over an area with a comb. 

  • To groom with a toothed implement, especially a comb. 

  • To roll over, as the top or crest of a wave; to break with a white foam, as waves. 

  • To turn a vessel parallel to (the track of) (a torpedo) so as to reduce one's size as a target. 

  • To separate choice cotton fibers from worsted cloth fibers. 

rake

noun
  • A similarly shaped tool used for other purposes. 

  • A series, a succession; specifically (rail transport) a set of coupled rail vehicles, normally coaches or wagons. 

  • The sloped edge of a roof at or adjacent to the first or last rafter. 

  • In full, angle of rake or rake angle: the angle between the edge or face of a tool (especially a cutting tool) and a plane (usually one perpendicular to the object that the tool is being applied to). 

  • A lot, plenty. 

  • A fissure or mineral vein of ore traversing the strata vertically, or nearly so. 

  • A tool with a straight edge at the end used by a croupier to move chips or money across a gaming table. 

  • A divergence from the horizontal or perpendicular; a slant, a slope. 

  • A slant that causes the bow or stern of a watercraft to extend beyond the keel; also, the upper part of the bow or stern that extends beyond the keel. 

  • A garden tool with a row of pointed teeth fixed to a long handle, used for collecting debris, grass, etc., for flattening the ground, or for loosening soil; also, a similar wheel-mounted tool drawn by a horse or a tractor. 

  • A person (usually a man) who is stylish but habituated to hedonistic and immoral conduct. 

  • A share of profits, takings, etc., especially if obtained illegally; specifically (gambling) the scaled commission fee taken by a cardroom operating a poker game. 

  • The direction of slip during the movement of a fault, measured within the fault plane. 

  • The act of raking. 

  • In cellular automata: a puffer that emits a stream of spaceships rather than a trail of debris. 

  • A course, a path, especially a narrow and steep path or route up a hillside. 

  • Rate of progress; pace, speed. 

  • A slant of some other part of a watercraft (such as a funnel or mast) away from the perpendicular, usually towards the stern. 

verb
  • Followed by up: to bring up or uncover (something), as embarrassing information, past misdeeds, etc. 

  • To move swiftly; to proceed rapidly. 

  • Of a bird of prey: to fly after a quarry; also, to fly away from the falconer, to go wide of the quarry being pursued. 

  • To move (a beam of light, a glance with the eyes, etc.) across (something) with a long side-to-side motion; specifically (often military) to use a weapon to fire at (something) with a side-to-side motion; to spray with gunfire. 

  • To search through (thoroughly). 

  • To cover (something) by or as if by raking things over it. 

  • To act upon with a rake, or as if with a rake. 

  • To incline (something) from a perpendicular direction. 

  • To provide (the bow or stern of a watercraft) with a rake (“a slant that causes it to extend beyond the keel”). 

  • Of a watercraft: to have a rake at its bow or stern. 

  • To fire upon an enemy vessel from a position in line with its bow or stern, causing one's fire to travel through the length of the enemy vessel for maximum damage. 

  • Often followed by in: to gather (things which are apart) together, especially quickly. 

  • To claw at; to scrape, to scratch; followed by away: to erase, to obliterate. 

  • Often followed by an adverb or preposition such as away, off, out, etc.: to drag or pull in a certain direction. 

How often have the words comb and rake occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )