ladder
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: simple
Topics: firefighting
government
hobbies
law-enforcement
lifestyle
military
naval
navy
politics
sports
war
Etymology: Inherited from Middle English ladder, laddre; from Old English hlǣder, from Proto-West Germanic *hlaidriju, from Proto-Germanic *hlaidrijō, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlóydʰrom, from *ḱley- (“to lean”).
Compare Scots ledder, North Frisian ladder, Saterland Frisian Laadere, West Frisian ljedder, Dutch ladder, German Leiter; also Old Irish clithar (“hedge”), and Umbrian 𐌊𐌋𐌄𐌈𐌓𐌀𐌌 (kleθram, “stretcher”). See lean, which is related to lid.
Further cognates include Ashkun istrī, Kamkata-viri c̣ik, Prasuni čik, čix; Waigali c̣iř, Sanskrit श्रिति (śrití).
Inflected forms:
form: ladders
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: ledder
pos: noun
tags: alternative
dialectal
form: ladders
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: laddering
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: laddered
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: laddered
pos: verb
tags: past
form: ledder
pos: verb
tags: alternative
dialectal
Senses:
gloss: A frame, usually portable, of wood, metal, or rope, used for ascent and descent, consisting of two side pieces to which are fastened rungs (cross strips or rounds acting as steps).
pos: noun
examples: The form of a man was seen to enter, and both the females rushed up the ladder, as if equally afraid of the consequences. The stranger secured the door, and first examining the lower room with great care, he cautiously ascended the ladder.
Ladders are heavy and unwieldy. Handle them properly to avoid damaging property and to make sure you don't injure yourself. Carry a ladder upright, not slung across your shoulder. Hold the ladder vertically, bend your knees slightly, then rock the ladder back against your shoulder. Grip one rung lower down while you support the ladder at head height with your other hand, and then straighten your knees.
And why wouldn't I just turn around, not take a chance on the bad luck of walking under a ladder? Because, beyond it, there was Pluckie. My little dog was leashed to a bush, lunging and barking. If the leash came loose, her lunge could send her tumbling down the mountainside.
gloss: A series of stages by which one progresses to a better position.
pos: noun
tags: figuratively
examples: Newcastle had won both their previous fixtures in 2011 but were terribly disappointing at Broadhall Way against opponents 73 places below them in the footballing ladder.
gloss: The hierarchy or ranking system within an organization, such as the corporate ladder.
pos: noun
tags: figuratively
examples: Many publicly held companies do have good working conditions, but they often employ mostly high-wage workers or offer different levels of working conditions and benefits to management employees than to workers at the bottom of the ladder.
gloss: A length of unravelled fabric in a knitted garment, especially in nylon stockings; a run.
pos: noun
tags: UK
examples: Proposed Standard of Needlework to be required from Pupil-teachers at the Yearly Visits of Her Majesty's Inspectors. […] Darning Stockings.—To show a hole darned, and a thin place "run" (or strengthened), and a ladder properly taken up in a coarse worsted stocking.
You've got a huge ladder in your stockings. I've got a spare pair in my bag, come to the Ladies and you can change.
gloss: A sequence of moves following a zigzag pattern and ultimately leading to the capture of the attacked stones.
pos: noun
examples: The most dramatic introduction to the idea of how stones relate to each other over distance is how players react when a ladder (shicho, "she-ko"^([sic]) in Japanese) [シチョウ (shichō)] develops. […] Ouch! This is finding out about the ladder, which is called that because of the steplike shape that the defending stones are forced into.
gloss: A league table.
pos: noun
tags: Australia
New-Zealand
gloss: To arrange or form into a shape of a ladder.
pos: verb
examples: And employing the innate gift for mimicry he'd always had – a gift which had made his father roar with laughter even when he was tired and feeling down – Jack 'did' Morgan Sloat. Age fell into his face as he laddered his brow the way Uncle Morgan's brow laddered into lines when he was pissed off about something.
By means of repeated bifurcations, [Carl] Linnaeus provided a five-tier botanic hierarchy. He laddered the plant kingdom downward from classes to orders, genera, species, and varieties.
I sat down, and he left his perch on the edge of the table and pulled out another chair for himself. We sat facing each other. He laddered his fingers under his chin.
gloss: To ascend (a building, a wall, etc.) using a ladder.
pos: verb
examples: The Rochdale climber spoken of once fell 70 feet from a mill at Linfitts, owing to an accident while he was laddering. He was terribly hurt, but recovered, and still carries on his trade with unshaken nerve.
A good working knowledge of the ladder parts, how they work, their capacities, and proper usage are a must before anyone is sent out to ladder a building.
He was barefoot, but he was wearing his climbing harness and was attached to Telperion with a rope. He unclipped the rope, detaching himself from the tree. He stepped out onto a branch and free-climbed up to Cordaro's hammock. […] He laddered his way barefoot to the very top of Telperion. He didn't use a rope, and he felt that any hominid with any dexterity could have pulled off the climb.
gloss: Of a knitted garment: to develop a ladder as a result of a broken thread.
pos: verb
examples: Oh damn it, I've laddered my tights!
He slid his hand up her skirt and murmured in her ear. / "Robert, I've just got dressed. Stop it." […] / He laddered her stocking and smudged her lipstick, but she had time to repair the damage before they went out.
"Oh, I see," murmured Maddie. She didn't see, though. Not really. Why cry over a ladder in your tights? […] "They must have been defective," she said. / "No, they weren't! It's me who's defective! I'm too fat to wear Mediums any more. That's why they ladder. They ladder the moment I put them on, because my legs are too fat. Everything is too fat!" Joanna shot her mother a baleful glance that brimmed with threat.
She caught her mother's eye and said quickly, 'I wondered why your cardigan was laddering.' She looked around the kitchen. 'It is awfully cramped in here. Perhaps if we moved the table against the wall it would be better.' She found herself almost believing that Val and Mother had torn their clothes on the stove.
gloss: To close in on a target with successive salvos, increasing or decreasing the shot range as necessary.
pos: verb
tags: UK
slang
examples: For eighteen minutes Revenge pounded the dockyard area at an average range of 15,700 yards, spreading for line and laddering for range to a prearranged plan to cover the whole target area.
Laddering made it possible to get a few hits on a fast-moving, often manoeuvring, target.
gloss: To corruptly coerce a convicted offender to admit to offences to be taken into consideration which they do not actually believe they committed, as a way to artificially increase the rate of solved crimes.
pos: verb
tags: UK
Derived words: accommodation ladder
aerial ladder
angel's ladder
Appalachian Jacob's ladder
attic ladder
Cantril ladder
chain-ladder method
chicken ladder
chutes and ladders
climb the ladder
climb up the ladder
coin ladder
companion ladder
corporate ladder
crossed ladders problem
DNA ladder
downladder
fail up the ladder
fare ladder
fish ladder
hook ladder
interladder
Jacob's ladder
ladderane
ladderback
ladder back
ladder-back
ladder beam
laddered
laddergram
ladder handle
laddering
ladderize
ladder-laced
ladder lacing
ladderless
ladderlike
ladder logic
ladder lottery
ladderman
ladder match
ladder mate
Ladder of Jacob
ladder of opportunity
ladder operator
ladder polyether
ladder school
ladder snake
ladder stitch
laddertron
ladder wagon
ladder wall
ladderway
ladderwise
laddery
loft ladder
monkey ladder
on the ladder
peg ladder
pencil ladder
property ladder
pull the ladder up after oneself
pull the ladder up behind oneself
pull up the ladder
rope ladder
salmon ladder
scaling ladder
snakes and ladders
social ladder
stepladder
step-ladder
step ladder
Swedish ladder
tower ladder
turntable ladder
upladder
witch ladder
witch's ladder
word ladder
Translations:
lang: Abkhaz
word: амардуан
roman: amardwan
lang: Afrikaans
word: leer
lang: Albanian
word: shkallë
lang: Northern Altai
word: паскыш
roman: paskïš
lang: Southern Altai
word: баскыш
roman: baskïš
lang: Southern Altai
word: тепкиш
roman: tepkiš
lang: Arabic
word: سُلَّم
roman: sullam
lang: Arabic
word: سلوم
roman: sallūm
lang: Arabic
word: سلَّم
roman: sullām, sillām
lang: Aragonese
word: escalera
lang: Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
word: ܣܸܡܲܠܬܵܐ
roman: simaltā
lang: Armenian
word: աստիճան
roman: astičan
lang: Armenian
word: սանդուղք
roman: sanduġkʻ
lang: Armenian
word: փիլաքյան
roman: pʻilakʻyan
lang: Aromanian
word: scarã
lang: Assamese
word: জখলা
roman: zokhola
lang: Asturian
word: escalera
lang: Azerbaijani
word: nərdivan
lang: Bashkir
word: баҫҡыс
roman: baśqıs
lang: Basque
word: eskailera
lang: Belarusian
word: ле́свіца
roman: ljésvica
lang: Belarusian
word: драбі́ны
roman: drabíny
lang: Bengali
word: মই
roman: moi
lang: Bislama
word: lada
lang: Breton
word: skeul
lang: Bulgarian
word: стъ́лба
roman: stǎ́lba
lang: Burmese
word: လှေကား
roman: hleka:
lang: Burushaski
word: ćhiṣ
lang: Catalan
word: escala
lang: Chechen
word: лами
roman: lami
lang: Cherokee
word: ᎠᏴᏠ
roman: ayvtlo
lang: Chinese Cantonese
word: 梯
roman: tai¹
lang: Chinese
word: тиҗя
roman: tiži͡a
lang: Eastern Min Chinese
word: 樓梯 /楼梯
lang: Eastern Min Chinese
word: 梯
roman: tăi
lang: Gan Chinese
word: 樓梯 /楼梯
roman: leu⁴ ti
lang: Hakka Chinese
word: 梯
roman: thôi
lang: Chinese
word: 樓梯 /楼梯
roman: zh-min-nan
lang: Chinese
word: 梯
roman: thui
lang: Jin Chinese
word: 梯子
roman: ti¹ zeh
lang: Jin Chinese
word: 樓梯 /楼梯
roman: lou¹ ti¹
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 梯子
roman: tīzi
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 扶梯
roman: fútī
lang: Northern Min Chinese
word: 樓階 /楼阶
roman: lê-gó
lang: Wu Chinese
word: 胡梯
lang: Xiang Chinese
word: 梯子
roman: ti¹ zr
lang: Choctaw
word: aboiya
lang: West Circassian
word: дэкӏояпӏэ
roman: dɛkʷʼojapʼɛ
lang: West Circassian
word: лъэой
roman: lˢɛwoj
lang: Czech
word: žebřík
lang: Danish
word: stige
lang: Dutch
word: ladder
lang: Esperanto
word: eskalo
lang: Esperanto
word: ŝtupetaro
lang: Estonian
word: redel
lang: Faroese
word: stigi
lang: Finnish
word: tikkaat
lang: Finnish
word: tikapuut
lang: French
word: échelle
lang: North Frisian
word: lääder
lang: Friulian
word: scjale
lang: Friulian
word: sčhale
lang: Galician
word: escada
lang: Galician
word: esqueira
lang: Georgian
word: კიბე
roman: ḳibe
lang: German
word: Leiter
lang: Greek
word: σκάλα
roman: skála
lang: Ancient Greek
word: κλῖμαξ
roman: klîmax
lang: Hanunoo
word: agdan
lang: Hebrew
word: סולם
lang: Hebrew
word: סֻלָּם
roman: sulám
lang: Higaonon
word: hagudan
lang: Hindi
word: सीढ़ी
roman: sīṛhī
lang: White Hmong
word: ntaiv
lang: Hungarian
word: létra
lang: Hunsrik
word: Leeter
lang: Icelandic
word: stigi
lang: Ido
word: skalo
lang: Indonesian
word: tangga
lang: Indonesian
word: jenjang
lang: Ingrian
word: turpaat
lang: Ingush
word: лоами
roman: loami
lang: Irish
word: dréimire
lang: Italian
word: scala
lang: Japanese
word: 梯子
roman: hashigo
lang: Javanese
word: andha
lang: Kannada
word: ಏಣಿ
roman: ēṇi
lang: Kazakh
word: басқыш
roman: basqyş
lang: Kazakh
word: баспалдақ
roman: baspaldaq
lang: Kazakh
word: саты
roman: saty
lang: Kazakh
word: тепкішек
roman: tepkışek
lang: Khmer
word: ជណ្ដើរ
roman: cɔɔcŭəndaə
lang: Korean
word: 사다리
roman: sadari
lang: Korean
word: 사닥다리
roman: sadakdari
lang: Central Kurdish
word: پەیژە
roman: peyje
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: peyje
lang: Kyrgyz
word: баскыч
roman: baskıc
lang: Kyrgyz
word: тепкич
roman: tepkic
lang: Kyrgyz
word: шаты
roman: şatı
lang: Lao
word: ຂັ້ນໄດ
lang: Latin
word: scāla
lang: Latvian
word: kāpnes
lang: Latvian
word: trepes
lang: Lithuanian
word: kopėčios
lang: Low German
word: Ledder
lang: Luhya
word: ingasi
lang: Lushootseed
word: səxʷʔigʷəɬ
lang: Luxembourgish
word: Leeder
lang: Macedonian
word: скала
roman: skala
lang: Malay
word: tangga
lang: Malayalam
word: ഏണി
roman: ēṇi
lang: Maltese
word: sellum
lang: Western Bukidnon Manobo
word: heɣezan
lang: Mansaka
word: agdan
lang: Māori
word: arawhata
lang: Marathi
word: शिडी
roman: śiḍī
lang: Mazanderani
word: سردی
roman: serdi
lang: Mazanderani
word: کاتی
roman: kāti
lang: Mongolian
word: шат
roman: šat
lang: Navajo
word: haazʼéí
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: stige
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: leider
lang: Norwegian Nynorsk
word: stige
lang: Norwegian Nynorsk
word: leider
lang: Occitan
word: escala
lang: Ojibwe
word: akwaandawaagan
lang: Pashto
word: زينه
roman: zēna
lang: Dari
word: زِینَه
roman: zīna
lang: Iranian Persian
word: نَرْدِبان
roman: nardebân
lang: Pijin
word: lada
lang: Plautdietsch
word: Lada
lang: Polish
word: drabina
lang: Portuguese
word: escada
lang: Punjabi
word: ਪੌੜੀ
roman: pauṛī
lang: Romanian
word: scară
lang: Romansh
word: stgala
lang: Romansh
word: scala
lang: Romansh
word: stgeala
lang: Russian
word: ле́стница
roman: léstnica
lang: Russian
word: стремя́нка
roman: stremjánka
lang: Scots
word: ledder
lang: Scottish Gaelic
word: fàradh
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: lojtre
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: ле̏стве
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: ље̏стве
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: ле̏ствица
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: ље̏ствица
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: lȅstve
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: ljȅstve
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: lȅstvica
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: ljȅstvica
lang: Silesian
word: drabina
lang: Slovak
word: rebrík
lang: Slovene
word: lestev
lang: Spanish
word: escalera
lang: Spanish
word: escala
lang: Spanish
word: escalera de mano
lang: Spanish
word: escalera portátil
lang: Spanish
word: escalera manual
lang: Spanish
word: escalera vertical
lang: Spanish
word: quiroescalera
lang: Swahili
word: ngazi
lang: Swedish
word: stege
lang: Sylheti
word: ꠌꠃꠇꠣꠝ
roman: soukam
lang: Tagalog
word: akyatan
lang: Tagalog
word: hagdan
lang: Tajik
word: нардабон
roman: nardabon
lang: Tajik
word: нардбон
roman: nardbon
lang: Tajik
word: зинапоя
roman: zinapoya
lang: Tamil
word: ஏணி
roman: ēṇi
lang: Taos
word: į̂ęthuną
lang: Tausug
word: hagdan
lang: Telugu
word: నిచ్చెన
roman: niccena
lang: Thai
word: กระได
roman: grà-dai
lang: Tibetan
word: སྐས་འཛེག
roman: skas 'dzeg
lang: Turkish
word: merdiven
lang: Ottoman Turkish
word: نردبان
roman: nerdiban
lang: Turkmen
word: merdiwan
lang: Ukrainian
word: драби́на
roman: drabýna
lang: Ukrainian
word: стрем'я́нка
roman: stremʺjánka
lang: Urdu
word: سِیڑْھی
roman: sīṛhī
lang: Uyghur
word: شوتا
roman: shota
lang: Uzbek
word: narvon
lang: Uzbek
word: shoti
lang: Uzbek
word: zina
lang: Uzbek
word: pillapoya
lang: Vietnamese
word: thang
lang: Volapük
word: xänöm
lang: Walloon
word: schåle
lang: Welsh
word: ysgol
lang: Yiddish
word: לייטער
roman: leyter
lang: Zazaki
word: merwan
lang: Zulu
word: isenyukelo