Meaning of ladder | Babel Free

Definitions

1. ladder (a frame, usually portable, of wood, metal, or rope, used for ascent and descent)
2. 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).
3. scale (an ordered, usually numerical sequence used for measurement, means of assigning a magnitude)
4. A series of stages by which one progresses to a better position.
   figuratively
5. scale (a series of notes spanning an octave)
6. The hierarchy or ranking system within an organization, such as the corporate ladder.
   figuratively
7. ladder, hierarchy
8. A length of unravelled fabric in a knitted garment, especially in nylon stockings; a run.
   British
9. scale (the ratio of depicted distance to actual distance)
10. A sequence of moves following a zigzag pattern and ultimately leading to the capture of the attacked stones.

Equivalents

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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

CEFR level