climber
Americannoun
-
a person or thing that climbs.
-
a climbing plant.
-
a device to assist in climbing, as a climbing iron.
noun
-
a person or thing that climbs
-
a plant that lacks rigidity and grows upwards by twining, scrambling, or clinging with tendrils and suckers
-
short for social climber
Etymology
Origin of climber
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at climb, -er 1
Explanation
A climber is a person who hikes up steep, rocky mountains and hills. If you want to be a mountain climber, you should start with small ones before tackling Mount Everest. Climbers pull themselves up the steep, craggy sides of mountains or practice on rock walls at the gym. A person who aspires to belong to a fancier social group is another kind of climber: "He's hanging out with the rich kids again — I didn't realize he was such a climber." When you're talking about plants, a climber is anything vine-like that grows up structures: "That rose is a climber. It'll cover your fence by the end of the summer."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
An experienced climber, Dawa Sherpa is also known as Hillary Dawa Sherpa after famed mountaineer Edmund Hillary.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
As Thrall went down, he found a Polish climber who was struggling after running out of supplementary oxygen and had suffered frostbite.
From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026
"Or do I help my fellow climber, who's got no oxygen, frostbite in his fingers, and obviously you're never far off hypothermia up there?"
From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026
Purnima Shrestha, a prominent climber and photographer from Nepal, is currently acclimatising to summit Everest for the sixth time.
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
After nearly getting killed by a falling rock low on the Southwest Face, Petter Neby, the solo Norwegian climber, was already gone: he’d quietly left Base Camp one morning and returned to Scandinavia.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
