comb test

noun

A test for whether a substance should be considered a male sex hormone.

Meanings

nouncomb test (plural comb tests)

plural comb tests

  1. endocrinologyA test for whether a substance should be considered a male sex hormone.

    In addition to the comb test, physiologists applied assays based on changes in fat deposits, body length and weight, and hair growth, in rats and guinea-pigs.

    1994, Nelly Oudshoorn, Beyond the Natural Body: An Archeology of Sex Hormones, e-book edition, Routledge, published 2005, →ISBN, page 48

    Synonyms: cock's comb test

  2. historicalA method of determining racial identity, based on how easily a comb passes through a person's hair.

    "How'd your in-laws feel about you marryin' your wife? Maybe you could pass the paper bag test and the comb test, but your old man had dark skin, kinky hair, and he was a dyed-in-wool bapistst from out in the sticks."

    2002 February, Don Spears, Playing for Keeps, Los Angeles: Milligan Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 183

    Synonyms: fine-tooth comb test

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA test for whether a substance should be considered a male sex hormone.

nounA method of determining racial identity, based on how easily a comb passes through a person's hair.

Cite this entry
APA

comb test. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/comb%20test

MLA

“comb test.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/comb%20test. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “comb test,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/comb%20test.

Source: comb test on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.