Ladder Definition

lădər
ladders
noun
ladders
A framework consisting of two parallel sidepieces connected by a series of rungs or crosspieces on which a person steps in climbing up or down.
Webster's New World
Any staircase or vertical set of steps.
Webster's New World
Anything by means of which a person climbs or rises.
Webster's New World
A run as in a stocking.
Webster's New World
A rising series of steps, stages, or levels.
The ladder of success.
Webster's New World
verb
ladders
To run, as a stocking does.
American Heritage
To have or cause to have a ladder, or run.
Webster's New World
(firefighting) To ascend a building or wall using a ladder.
Wiktionary
(of a knitted garment) To develop a ladder as a result of a broken thread.
Wiktionary
Synonyms:

Other Word Forms of Ladder

Noun

Singular:
ladder
Plural:
ladders

Origin of Ladder

  • From Old English hlǣder, from Proto-Germanic *hlaidriz (compare West Frisian ljedder, Dutch leer, German Leiter), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱleytro (compare Old Irish clithar 'hedge', Umbrian [script?] (kletram) 'stretcher'), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- (“to lean”). More at lean, related to lid.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English from Old English hlǣder klei- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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