Ladder Definition & Meaning

American

British

Idioms

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms ladder American [lad-er] / ˈlæd ər /

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 British / 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

"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

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

"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 ladder Idioms

1. see bottom of the ladder.

Other Word Forms

• ladderless adjective
• ladderlike adjective
• laddery adjective

Etymology

Origin of ladder

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

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.

The rugby legend is a well-known figure across Wales - but it is not lost on him that, in some ways, he is starting at the bottom of the ladder once again.

From BBC

Hollywood types often strike a snarky and condescending tone when they peer down the ladder at the low rungs of show business—an excellent example is the 2017 comedy “The Disaster Artist.”

From The Wall Street Journal

The governor praised quick-thinking first responders, notably firefighters who "were quite literally climbing up ladders, handing individuals in this nursing home to police, who were at times carrying two people on their back to safety."

From Barron's

Atop the aerial ladder of a bright red fire engine, a firefighter wrangles a hose.

From Los Angeles Times

They combine animals and figures; architecture, ladders and wagons; abstraction and representation.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.