ladder

B1 Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /ˈlæd.ɚ/ UK /ˈlad.ə/ See IPA manual

Freq #4800

Meanings

1

noun
A frame with steps used for climbing up or down, made of two long pieces joined by rungs.

He climbed the ladder to reach the roof.
2

noun
A series of stages or ranks by which someone moves up to a better position.

They climbed the career ladder.
3

noun
A line of unraveled threads in tights or stockings; a run.

She noticed a ladder in her stockings just before the interview.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a frame with steps used for... stepladder

3 noun · a line of unraveled threads... run

Word family

Forms ladderedladderingladders

Derived forms downladderinterladderladder-backladder-lacedladderaneladderbackladderedladdergramladderingladderizeladderlessladderlike

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

Idioms (1)

See all

climb the corporate ladder
to advance step by step through the ranks of a company

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English ladder, laddre; from Old English hlǣder, from Proto-West Germanic *hlaidriju, from Proto-Germanic *hlaidrijō, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlóydʰrom, from *ḱley- (“to lean”). Compare Scots ledder, North Frisian ladder, Saterland Frisian Laadere, West Frisian ljedder, Dutch ladder, German Leiter; also Old Irish clithar (“hedge”), and Umbrian 𐌊𐌋𐌄𐌈𐌓𐌀𐌌 (kleθram, “stretcher”). See lean, which is related to lid. Further cognates include Ashkun istrī, Kamkata-viri c̣ik, Prasuni čik, čix; Waigali c̣iř, Sanskrit श्रिति (śrití).

*ḱley- Proto-Indo-European ladder Middle English hlǣder Old English *hlaidriju Proto-West Germanic *hlaidrijō Proto-Germanic *ḱlóydʰrom Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Space, Position & Direction

External links

# ladder

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈlæd.ɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈlad.ə/
**Frequency rank:** 4800

## Meanings
1. A frame with steps used for climbing up or down, made of two long pieces joined by rungs.
2. A series of stages or ranks by which someone moves up to a better position.
3. A line of unraveled threads in tights or stockings; a run.

## Examples
- He climbed the ladder to reach the roof.
- They climbed the career ladder.
- She noticed a ladder in her stockings just before the interview.

## Derived Forms
- downladder
- interladder
- ladder-back
- ladder-laced
- ladderane
- ladderback
- laddered
- laddergram
- laddering
- ladderize
- ladderless
- ladderlike

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *ḱley-
- Root: ladder
- Root: hlǣder
- Root: *hlaidriju
- Root: *hlaidrijō
- Root: *ḱlóydʰrom

## Etymology
Inherited from Middle English ladder, laddre; from Old English hlǣder, from Proto-West Germanic *hlaidriju, from Proto-Germanic *hlaidrijō, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlóydʰrom, from *ḱley- (“to lean”). Compare Scots ledder, North Frisian ladder, Saterland Frisian Laadere, West Frisian ljedder, Dutch ladder, German Leiter; also Old Irish clithar (“hedge”), and Umbrian 𐌊𐌋𐌄𐌈𐌓𐌀𐌌 (kleθram, “stretcher”). See lean, which is related to lid. Further cognates include Ashkun istrī, Kamkata-viri c̣ik, Prasuni čik, čix; Waigali c̣iř, Sanskrit श्रिति (śrití).

## AI Etymology
Ladder is inherited from Middle English ladder, laddre; from Old English hlǣder, from Proto-West Germanic *hlaidriju, from Proto-Germanic *hlaidrijō, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlóydʰrom, from *ḱley- (“to lean”). Compare Scots ledder, North Frisian ladder, Saterland Frisian Laadere, West Frisian ljedder, Dutch ladder, German Leiter; also Old Irish clithar (“hedge”), and Umbrian 𐌊𐌋𐌄𐌈𐌓𐌀𐌌 (kleθram, “stretcher”). See lean, which is related to lid. Further cognates include Ashkun istrī, Kamkata-viri c̣ik, Prasuni čik, čix; Waigali c̣iř, Sanskrit श्रिति (śrití).

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction

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