stepladder

[step-lad-er]

noun

a ladder having flat steps or treads in place of rungs.
any ladder, especially a tall one with a hinged frame opening up to form four supporting legs.

Origin of stepladder

First recorded in 1745–55; step + ladder

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for stepladder

Historical Examples of stepladder

Don't forget the stepladder, and plenty of tacks and string.
Alexander's Bridge and The Barrel Organ
Willa Cather and Alfred Noyes
He slipped it into his pocket and stood up on the stepladder.
Philo Gubb Correspondence-School Detective
Ellis Parker Butler
She skipped up the stepladder as joyously as a kitten climbs a tree.
Peggy in Her Blue Frock
Eliza Orne White
Widow Blunt went into her house, and brought out her stepladder.
Exciting Adventures of Mister Robert Robin
Ben Field
Thaine was busy on the top of the stepladder and did not see Leigh as she came in.
Winning the Wilderness
Margaret Hill McCarter

British Dictionary definitions for stepladder

stepladder

noun

a folding portable ladder that is made of broad flat steps fixed to a supporting frame hinged at the top to another supporting frame

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

Word Origin and History for stepladder

one with steps instead of rungs, 1751, from step (n.) + ladder.