ladder back

American

noun

a chair back having a number of horizontal slats between uprights.

ladder back British

noun

a type of chair in which the back is constructed of horizontal slats between two uprights

"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

Etymology

Origin of ladder back

First recorded in 1905–10

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.

See Examples For:

ladder back

Andrew set the ladder back up, got the motor running and towed the fire hose back up onto the roof of the house.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2025

The festival organiser said people in the industry wanted to get their "first foot on the ladder back to work".

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2021

Before climbing the ladder back into the boat, I dropped under the surface for a final look.

From Slate ● Feb. 26, 2013

It’s never been much of a steppingstone, and anyway, it’s hard to see Spitzer climbing the ladder back to governor.

From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2010

Across the alley, Christina and Fernando are trying to lift the ladder back onto the windowsill.

From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth

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