ladder

[ lad-er ]

/ ˈlæd ər /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR ladder ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a structure of wood, metal, or rope, commonly consisting of two sidepieces between which a series of bars or rungs are set at suitable distances, forming a means of climbing up or down.

something resembling this.

a means of rising, as to eminence: the ladder of success.

a graded series of stages or levels in status; a hierarchical order of position or rank: high on the political ladder.

Nautical. companionway(def 1).

Chiefly British. a run in a stocking.

verb (used with object)

to climb or mount by means of a ladder: to ladder a wall.

to furnish with a ladder: to ladder a water tower.

Chiefly British. to cause a run in (a stocking).

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, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH ladder

ladder latter

Words nearby ladder

lad mag, lad's love, ladakh, ladanum, ladd-franklin, ladder, ladder back, ladder company, ladder polymer, ladder splint, ladder stitch

Example sentences from the Web for ladder

Then when we arrive at his flat in Shepherd's Bush following the escape, perhaps there ought to be remnants of the ladder.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days |David Freeman |December 13, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Then, a sharp-eyed woman pointed out a ladder leaning against a tree on the side of the pond.

Philippe Petit’s Moment of Concern Walking the WTC Tightrope |Anthony Haden-Guest |August 8, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
I threw all the food on the floor and I had a friend of mine get up on a ladder and photograph me lying in the middle of it.

An Artist Explores the Complicated Relationship Between Women and Food |Erin Cunningham |May 27, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
I remember climbing the ladder, and then trying to stand up there because I thought it was solid.

Hallucinating Away a Heroin Addiction |Abby Haglage |May 4, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Still, not everyone was as tight lipped about poverty on the lower rungs of ladder as Obama was.

Obama Misfires in the War on Poverty |Lloyd Green |January 13, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
He did not enter with flying colors, for Joe was no great scholar, but he was by no means at the foot of the ladder.

Baseball Joe at Yale |Lester Chadwick
He jerked the ladder from side to side till the hooks above lost their hold and it fell, so that he drew it in.

Wulfric the Weapon Thane |Charles W. Whistler
In a few moments he gave an exclamation, and then he came down from the ladder so rapidly that he barely missed falling.

The Great Stone of Sardis |Frank R. Stockton
Love is the ladder by which we climb up to the likeness of God.

Leaves of Life |Margaret Bird Steinmetz
With one bound Jim was back to the ladder, and was quickly on deck.

Frontier Boys in the South Seas |Wyn Roosevelt

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

See ladder tournament

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.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

ladder

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Origin of ladder

OTHER WORDS FROM ladder

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH ladder

Words nearby ladder

Example sentences from the Web for ladder

British Dictionary definitions for ladder

noun

verb

Word Origin for ladder

Idioms and Phrases with ladder

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

ladder

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Origin of ladder

OTHER WORDS FROM ladder

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH ladder

Words nearby ladder

Words related to ladder

Example sentences from the Web for ladder

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for ladder

noun

verb

Word Origin for ladder

Idioms and Phrases with ladder

British Dictionary definitions for ladder