ascender

American  

[uh-sen-der] / əˈsɛn dər /

noun

1. a person or thing that ascends or causes ascension.

2. Printing.

   1. the part of a lowercase letter, as b, d, f, h, that rises above x-height.

   2. a letter rising above x-height, as b, d, f, h, etc.

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ascender British  

/ əˈsɛndə /

noun

1. printing

   1. the part of certain lower-case letters, such as b or h, that extends above the body of the letter

   2. any letter having such a part

2. a person or thing that ascends

3. another word for ascendeur

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Etymology

Origin of ascender

First recorded in 1615–25; ascend + -er ¹

Example Sentences

The ascender of the Chang’e-6 probe lifted off Tuesday morning Beijing time and entered a preset orbit around the moon, the China National Space Administration said.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 3, 2024

An ascender atop the lander will then take the samples in a metal vacuum container back to another module that is orbiting the moon.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 1, 2024

An ascender module will ferry the samples back to the orbiter for the trip home and a final plunge by parachute in a return capsule, 53 days after launch.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 23, 2024

Confirmó sus sospechas de que las promesas de Estados Unidos -salarios altos y la oportunidad de ascender en la escala socioeconómica- eran exageradas.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 18, 2023

Breashears arrived twenty minutes later, followed by Araceli Segarra, Robert Schauer, and Jamling Norgay Sherpa— the son of the first ascender, Tenzing Norgay, and the ninth member of the Norgay clan to climb the peak.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer