Clime vs climb

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Grammarist

Clime and climb are two words that are pronounced in the same fashion but have different spellings as well as different meanings. They are homophones. We will look at the definitions of the words clime and climb, where these words came from and some examples of their use in sentences.

Clime means a region and its climate. One may consider the word clime as a sort of abbreviation of the word climate. Most often, the plural form of clime is used, as in climes. The word clime is derived from the Latin word clima which means zone.

Climb means to ascend, to go up, to traverse to the top of something. Climb may also mean to increase in value or power or to move to a higher position. Related words are climbs, climbed, climbing. The word climb is derived from the Old English word climban, which means to arise or to move upward. In times past, the b in climban was pronounced. When the word was shortened, the b became silent but is still retained in the spelling of climb as a sort of etymological artifact.

Examples

Portland offers a cooler clime for summer outdoors enthusiasts to visit the Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary and the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. (The Austin American-Statesman)

This comes after Kim appeared to be reminiscing about the sunny climes of Costa Rica as she shared more snaps on her website from her sun-soaked break. (The Daily Mail)

THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE DYING from opioid overdoses in Massachusetts each year continues to climb, according to a new state report projecting an estimated increase of between 13 and 24 percent from 2015 to 2016. (CommonWealth Magazine)

Instead, each participant climbed the ladder to jump into an above ground pool set up just for the event, with water temperature a match for whatever the outside temperature happens to be that day. (The Greene County Daily World)