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

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

Among them was Captain Bate, of the Actaeon, who was killed while about to mount a scaling ladder.

From How Britannia Came to Rule the Waves Updated to 1900 by Kingston, William Henry Giles

Run the scaling ladder up or down, it doesn't much matter—there are hundreds of applicants for every round; and only one man can stand on each—and climb, as I mean to.

From Flamsted quarries by Nelson, G. Patrick

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

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

From The Lost House by Davis, Richard Harding