Regular verb
The verb to climb
climb → climbed → climbed
A2Meaning: to go up using your hands and feet · Type: regular · Frequency: Top 50 English verbs
Key points to remember
- Present Simple:
climb / climbs - Past Simple:
climbed(silent b) - Past participle:
climbed - -ing form:
climbing
Conjugation of the verb to climb
Present Simple
| I | climb |
| You | climb |
| He / She / It | climbs |
| We | climb |
| You (pl.) | climb |
| They | climb |
Past Simple
| I | climbed |
| You | climbed |
| He / She / It | climbed |
| We | climbed |
| You (pl.) | climbed |
| They | climbed |
All the forms of the verb to climb
Present Simple
Full pageclimb / climbs
“I climb stairs every day.”
See the pagePresent Continuous
Full pageam / is / are climbing
“I am climbing the stairs right now.”
See the pagePast Simple
Full pageclimbed
“He climbed Mount Everest.”
See the pagePast Continuous
Full pagewas / were climbing
“I was climbing the stairs when the phone rang.”
See the pagePresent Perfect
Full pagehave / has climbed
“I have already climbed the stairs.”
See the pagePast Perfect
Full pagehad climbed
“She had already climbed the stairs when I arrived.”
See the pageFuture Simple
Full pagewill climb
“I will climb the stairs tomorrow.”
See the pageGoing to Future
Full pageam / is / are going to climb
“I'm going to climb the stairs this weekend.”
See the pageConditional (would)
Full pagewould climb
“I would climb the stairs if I had time.”
See the pageHow to use to climb
1. Climbing (a tree, the stairs)
- I climbed the tree.
2. Climbing a mountain
- They climbed Everest.
A common mistake
1. Climb the ladder
Climb the ladder can be figurative: to get a better position at work, step by step. She climbed the career ladder quickly.
Going further
Conjugating to climb is a key skill in the English contest
Every year, the Big Challenge tests the key English verbs. Register your students so they can check their level in a real contest.
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Practise on PLAYYou can conjugate to climb. Now say it out loud.
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Related pages: climb
Pages on a similar topic or with a similar use, so you can keep exploring.
Frequently asked questions
What is the past simple of climb?+
The Past Simple of climb is climbed. It is a regular verb: just add -ed.
Why is the b in climb silent?+
Climb is /klaɪm/: the final b is silent. Many words that end in -mb are like this: comb /kəʊm/, bomb /bɒm/, tomb /tuːm/, thumb /θʌm/, lamb /læm/. The b stays silent in climbed and climbing too.
What is the difference between climbing and hiking?+
Climbing is going up rocks or mountains, often with ropes and special equipment: rock climbing, mountain climbing. Hiking is walking a long way in nature, on paths, on flat land or up hills. They are two different activities.
Is it climb up or climb down?+
Climb up = to go up. Climb down = to go down. Climb the tree alone means to go up. If you go down, say down: He climbed down the ladder.
What does climb the career ladder mean?+
Climb the career ladder (idiom) means to get better and better jobs, one step at a time. The image is a ladder: each step is a better job.
Updated on 12 November 2026 by the Big Challenge teaching team. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999. Our teaching approach →
The Big Challenge · Updated on 12 November 2026 · Source: www.thebigchallenge.com/bl/academy/learn-english/verbs/climb
© The Big Challenge. Copying allowed for classroom use. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999.