ladder
(noun) steps consisting of two parallel members connected by rungs; for climbing up or down
run, ladder, ravel
(noun) a row of unravelled stitches; “she got a run in her stocking”
ladder
(noun) ascending stages by which somebody or something can progress; “he climbed the career ladder”
ladder, run
(verb) come unraveled or undone as if by snagging; “Her nylons were running”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
ladder (plural ladders)
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).
(figuratively) A series of stages by which one progresses to a better position.
(figuratively) The hierarchy or ranking system within an organization, such as the corporate ladder.
(chiefly, Britain) A length of unravelled fabric in a knitted garment, especially in nylon stockings; a run.
In the game of go, a sequence of moves following a zigzag pattern and ultimately leading to the capture of the attacked stones.
For stockings touted as resistant to ladders (unraveling), the phrase “ladder resist” is used in the UK. The American equivalent is “run resistant”.
• (frame for ascent and descent): stepladder
• (unravelled fabric): run (primarily US)
ladder (third-person singular simple present ladders, present participle laddering, simple past and past participle laddered)
To arrange or form into a shape of a ladder.
(chiefly, firefighting) To ascend (a building, a wall, etc.) using a ladder.
Of a knitted garment: to develop a ladder as a result of a broken thread.
• Aldred, larded, raddle
Source: Wiktionary
Lad"der, n. Etym: [OE. laddre, AS. hl, hl; akin to OFries. hladder, OHG.leitara, G. leiter, and from the root of E. lean, v. (Lean, v. i., and cf. Climax.]
1. A frame usually portable, of wood, metal, or rope, for ascent and descent, consisting of two side pieces to which are fastened cross strips or rounds forming steps. Some the engines play, And some, more bold, mount ladders to the fire. Dryden.
2. That which resembles a ladder in form or use; hence, that by means of which one attains to eminence. Lowliness is young ambition's ladder. Shak. Fish ladder. See under Fish.
– Ladder beetle (Zoöl.), an American leaf beetle (Chrysomela scalaris). The elytra are silvery white, striped and spotted with green; the under wings are rose-colored. It feeds upon the linden tree.
– Ladder handle, an iron rail at the side of a vertical fixed ladder, to grasp with the hand in climbing.
– Ladder shell (Zoöl.), a spiral marine shell of the genus Scalaria. See Scalaria.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
26 March 2025
(noun) bandage consisting of a firm covering (often made of plaster of Paris) that immobilizes broken bones while they heal
The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking as the modern beverage appeared in modern-day Yemen. In the middle of the 15th century in Sufi shrines where coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed for drinking. The Yemenis procured the coffee beans from the Ethiopian Highlands.
