comb vs groom

comb

noun
  • 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. 

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

  • 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. 

groom

noun
  • A brushing or cleaning, as of a dog or horse. 

  • A person who looks after horses. 

  • A man who is about to marry. 

  • One of several officers of the English royal household, chiefly in the lord chamberlain's department. 

verb
  • To attempt to gain the trust of (somebody, especially a minor) with the intention of subjecting them to abusive or exploitative behaviour such as sexual abuse or human trafficking. 

  • To care for (horses or other animals) by brushing and cleaning them. 

  • In agile software development, to review and prioritize the items in the development backlog. 

  • To attend to one's appearance and clothing. 

  • To prepare (someone) for an event 

  • To prepare (a ski slope) for skiers by packing down the snow. 

  • To prepare (someone) for election or appointment. 

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