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Synonyms

escalade

American  
[es-kuh-leyd, -lahd, es-kuh-leyd, -lahd] / ˌɛs kəˈleɪd, -ˈlɑd, ˈɛs kəˌleɪd, -ˌlɑd /

noun

  1. a scaling or mounting by means of ladders, especially in an assault upon a fortified place.

verb (used with object)

escaladed, escalading

  1. to mount, pass, or enter by means of ladders.

escalade British  
/ ˌɛskəˈleɪd /

noun

  1. an assault by the use of ladders, esp on a fortification

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to gain access to (a place) by the use of ladders

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • escalader noun

Etymology

Origin of escalade

1590–1600; < Middle French < Old Provençal *escalada, equivalent to escal ( ar ) to scale 3 + -ada -ade 1

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 escalade of masonry escarpments eighteen feet high can never be successful without much preparation.

From The Franco-German War of 1870-71 by Helmuth, Count

The Spaniards, certain of an escalade, at night brought down the great eighteen pound ship guns of the fort to the side of the island looking towards the land, and left the sea-shore almost defenceless.

From The Monarchs of the Main, Volume II (of 3) Or, Adventures of the Buccaneers by Thornbury, Walter

The position was of great strength, and would have been an ugly place to carry by escalade.

From Nooks and Corners of the New England Coast by Drake, Samuel Adams

Moreover, he felt that escalade hardly became either his age or habit of body.

From The White Plumes of Navarre A Romance of the Wars of Religion by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)

Here again the defenders had not waited for the escalade, and this lunette, too, was immediately prepared for being held.

From The Franco-German War of 1870-71 by Helmuth, Count

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.