escalator

American  

[es-kuh-lay-ter] / ˈɛs kəˌleɪ tər /

noun

• escalators
  plural

1. a continuously moving staircase on an endless loop for carrying passengers up or down.

2. a means of rising or descending, increasing or decreasing, etc., especially by stages.

   the social escalator.

3. escalator clause.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or included in an escalator clause.

   The union demands escalator protection of wages.

escalator British  

/ ˈɛskəˌleɪtə /

noun

1. a moving staircase consisting of stair treads fixed to a conveyor belt, for transporting passengers between levels, esp between the floors of a building

2. short for escalator clause

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• escalators
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of escalator

An Americanism first recorded in 1895–1900; formerly a trademark; perhaps escal(ade) + (elev)ator

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Explanation

An escalator is a motorized stairway that moves people up and down flights. When you get on an escalator, you can stand still and let it carry you. If you want to really annoy the people behind you, stand to the left on the escalator and block their passage. It's common for shopping malls, airports, and other large, public buildings to provide escalators as a way for people to get from one floor to another. An escalator works by moving a large belt of linked steps with a motor — each step seems to disappear as it moves parallel with the floor at your destination. In 1900, the Otis Elevator Company coined the word escalator, from escalade, "use ladders to scale a wall."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

escalator escalators

Behind him, hundreds of fans cram onto a London Underground escalator, all wearing Ali G's trademark yellow shell suit and skullcap.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

The United Nations, now with a fixed escalator, kicks off its General Assembly, with all attention on the spiraling war in the Middle East.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

It starts three- and four-year-olds on an escalator of Spider-Man content that leads them to TV shows and movies aimed at grade-schoolers, teenagers and adults.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

When he announced his run for president in 2015, dramatically diverting the course of the American project, it was after a ride down a gold-mirrored escalator.

From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026

Alma boarded the second flight of her life and within two hours she was back in Arkansas, standing near baggage claim and waiting to see her mother appear on the escalator.

From "Where Things Come Back" by John Corey Whaley

On Sphere’s escalators, grey-bearded lifers hugged in shredded battle jackets; tween girls in “Master of Puppets” hoodies drummed along to every fill; accents came from eastern Europe, Latin America and all the world over.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

Lovell is an escalator engineer from Hertfordshire and works for a company that has been responsible for installing, maintaining and upgrading the escalators at the national stadium.

From BBC ● May 16, 2026

Security ushered attendees down escalators to the ballroom upon seeing their tickets—other guests came in through a security checkpoint near an elevator bank.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026

According to other attendees, including Times journalists, event staff were checking tickets, though not very thoroughly, at multiple points prior to escalators that descended to the metal detectors where Allen allegedly dashed past armed security.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2026

There’s a Starbucks and a set of escalators and dozens and dozens of people.

From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli

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