ladder
ladder Lexical Profile
ladder Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A piece of equipment consisting of two parallel side pieces joined by a series of horizontal rungs, used for climbing up or down.
"He leaned the ladder against the side of the house to clean the gutters."
A series of ascending stages or ranks representing progress or advancement within an organization or society.
"She worked extremely hard to quickly climb the corporate ladder."
British A vertical tear or unraveling in the knitted fabric of tights or stockings.
"She was annoyed to discover a ladder in her new pair of tights right before the interview."
• verb
British To develop a vertical tear or run in knitted fabric (especially of stockings or tights).
"Her tights laddered when she caught them on the sharp edge of the desk."
To climb, scale, or provide access to a structure using a ladder.
"The firefighters quickly laddered the building to rescue the trapped occupants on the third floor."
Word Nuance & Usage
In British English, 'ladder' commonly refers to a tear in tights or stockings, which is known as a 'run' in North American English.
• Rhymes for ladder
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'hlǣdder', of Germanic origin; related to Dutch 'leer' and German 'Leiter', stemming from an Indo-European root shared by the word 'lean'.