ladder
[ lad-er ]
/ ˈlæd ər /
noun
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
Chiefly British.
to get a run, as in a stocking.
to gain in popularity or importance: He laddered to the top of his profession.
Origin of ladder
before 1000; Middle English
laddre, Old English
hlǣder; cognate with German
Leiter, Dutch
leer (also
ladder < Fris); akin to Gothic
hleithra tent; orig., something that slopes. See
lean1
OTHER WORDS FROM ladder
lad·der·less, adjective lad·der·like, lad·der·y, adjectiveWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH ladder
ladder latterWords nearby ladder
Example sentences from the Web for ladder
British Dictionary definitions for ladder
ladder
/ (ˈlædə) /
noun
a portable framework of wood, metal, rope, etc, in the form of two long parallel members connected by several parallel rungs or steps fixed to them at right angles, for climbing up or down
any hierarchy conceived of as having a series of ascending stages, levels, etc
the social ladder
- anything resembling a ladder
- (as modifier)ladder stitch
Also called: run mainly British
a line of connected stitches that have come undone in knitted material, esp stockings
verb
mainly British
to cause a line of interconnected stitches in (stockings, etc) to undo, as by snagging, or (of a stocking) to come undone in this way
Word Origin for ladder
Old English
hlǣdder; related to Old High German
leitara
Idioms and Phrases with ladder
ladder
see bottom of the ladder.