LADDERING

Verb

laddering

present participle of ladder

Noun

laddering (countable and uncountable, plural ladderings)

(agriculture, countable) A process of soil compaction that serves to break up clods and level a field.

(uncountable) An interview technique developed in the 1960s in which the interviewer systematically drills down for greater detail at each step.

(uncountable) An investment strategy where the investment is spread over multiple bonds or term deposits with rolling maturity dates.

(uncountable) A regular pattern of oligonucleotide sizes on electrophoretic gels, resulting from the fragmentation of DNA strands during cell death.

(uncountable) An irregular fracture pattern that arises from uneven drying.

Source: Wiktionary

LADDER

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