scaling ladder

American  

noun

1. a ladder for climbing high walls.

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scaling ladder British  

noun

1. a ladder used to climb high walls, esp one used formerly to enter a besieged town, fortress, etc

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Etymology

Origin of scaling ladder

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

scaling ladder

Meta styled Muse Spark as “the first step on our scaling ladder and the first product of a ground-up overhaul.”

From Barron's ● Apr. 8, 2026

If necessary, by means of this scaling ladder, he could work entirely from the outside.

From The Lost House by Davis, Richard Harding

This was a long scaling ladder, supported by a few persons who were endeavouring to penetrate the living mass, and by which they meant to gain entrance to the house.

From The Betrothed From the Italian of Alessandro Manzoni by Manzoni, Alessandro

At one time, while attacking a small town, he seized a scaling ladder and mounted with the troops.

From Alexander the Great Makers of History by Abbott, Jacob

Every rung of the scaling ladder being raised for the storming of the German defences on land and sea was planed and polished in the British Foreign Office.

From The Crime Against Europe A Possible Outcome of the War of 1914 by Casement, Roger