ladder

[lad-er]

noun

1. a structure of wood, metal, or rope, commonly consisting of two sidepieces between which a series of bars or rungs are set at suitable distances, forming a means of climbing up or down.

2. something resembling this.

3. a means of rising, as to eminence.

   the ladder of success.

4. a graded series of stages or levels in status; a hierarchical order of position or rank.

   high on the political ladder.

5. 1. ladder company.

   2. ladder truck.

6. Nautical.,  companionway.

7. Chiefly British.,  a run in a stocking.

verb (used with object)

1. to climb or mount by means of a ladder.

   to ladder a wall.

2. to furnish with a ladder.

   to ladder a water tower.

3. Chiefly British.,  to cause a run in (a stocking).

verb (used without object)

1. Chiefly British.,  to get a run, as in a stocking.

2. to gain in popularity or importance.

   He laddered to the top of his profession.

ladder

/ ˈlædə /

noun

1. a portable framework of wood, metal, rope, etc, in the form of two long parallel members connected by several parallel rungs or steps fixed to them at right angles, for climbing up or down

2. any hierarchy conceived of as having a series of ascending stages, levels, etc

   the social ladder

3. 1. anything resembling a ladder

   2. ( as modifier )

      ladder stitch

4. Also called: run. a line of connected stitches that have come undone in knitted material, esp stockings

5. See ladder tournament

verb

1. to cause a line of interconnected stitches in (stockings, etc) to undo, as by snagging, or (of a stocking) to come undone in this way

Other Word Forms

• ladderless adjective
• ladderlike adjective
• laddery adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ladder¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English ladder(e), Old English hlǣd(d)er; cognate with German Leiter, Dutch leer (also ladder, from Frisian); akin to Gothic hleithra “tent, hut”; originally, “something that slopes or leans”; lean ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of ladder¹

Old English hlǣdder; related to Old High German leitara

Idioms and Phrases

see bottom of the ladder.

Example Sentences

By the time they climbed a ladder to their roof, Si said he was no longer scared.

Read more on Barron's

Meanwhile, the homeownership rate of those born since the 1990s is well below that of earlier generations, due to the relative difficulty they have faced in getting on the housing ladder.

Read more on BBC

“We went back over there again. We dug it all out again. We put ladders on it. We did everything that we could do — cold-trail again,” Villanueva told The Times on Oct.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

We might start by adopting “relatively low-risk actions and laddering up boldness from there.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Lane Kiffin has a history of getting fired or taking every opportunity to hop up the coaching ladder.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• extent 
• proportion 
• range 
• rate 
• ratio 
• scope 
• system