career ladder

American

[ker-eer lad-er] / kərˈɪər ˈlæd ər /

noun

plural

career ladders

a series of jobs, roles, or positions of increasing importance or responsibility, through which one progresses or is expected to progress; corporate ladder.

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.

The missing lower rung in today’s career ladder isn’t a problem to be solved.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 22, 2025

“There are a lot of rungs on the career ladder that are disappearing,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 1, 2025

Ms Pegg had been a "rising star" in the Prison Service, climbing the career ladder from graduate entrant to prison governor in six years, Preston Crown Court was told.

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2025

In other words, the retired Navy officer told me, “Franchetti went up the standard career ladder and she did it very well. She is not a token.”

From Slate • Feb. 24, 2025

Supreme Court, which is quite a career ladder.

From Salon • Aug. 16, 2024

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023