Ladder
['lædə] or ['lædɚ]
Definition
(noun.) steps consisting of two parallel members connected by rungs; for climbing up or down.
(noun.) ascending stages by which somebody or something can progress; 'he climbed the career ladder'.
(verb.) come unraveled or undone as if by snagging; 'Her nylons were running'.
Inputed by Lawrence--From WordNet
Definition
(v. i.) 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.
(v. i.) That which resembles a ladder in form or use; hence, that by means of which one attains to eminence.
Inputed by Carmela
Definition
n. a frame made with steps placed between two upright pieces by which one may ascend a building &c.: anything by which one ascends: a gradual rise.
Inputed by Katherine
Unserious Contents or Definition
To dream of a ladder being raised for you to ascend to some height, your energetic and nervy qualifications will raise you into prominence in business affairs. To ascend a ladder, means prosperity and unstinted happiness. To fall from one, denotes despondency and unsuccessful transactions to the tradesman, and blasted crops to the farmer. To see a broken ladder, betokens failure in every instance. To descend a ladder, is disappointment in business, and unrequited desires. To escape from captivity, or confinement, by means of a ladder, you will be successful, though many perilous paths may intervene. To grow dizzy as you ascend a ladder, denotes that you will not wear new honors serenely. You are likely to become haughty and domineering in your newly acquired position. See Hill, Ascend, or Fall.
Editor: Wendell
Examples
- Your money would have held out for that, and there would have been a surer ladder before you. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- As soon as you have finished getting the apples, her aunt said, descending the ladder, come down, and we'll go for the holly. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- This was followed by the plank leading from a lower to a higher level, by the ladder, and finally by the stairway. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Then she went up the ladder, lamp in hand, and came down again, and glided about and about, making a little bundle. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- I followed still, up a very narrow staircase to the attics, and thence by a ladder and through a trap-door to the roof of the hall. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- So she would, said Andy; but can't ye see through a ladder, ye black nigger? Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- I am of a fair size, but could not have the honour of presenting myself in that room without a ladder. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- A full equipment of scaling ladders and fire-fighting apparatus is carried. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- As no ladders could reach the great heights, the men swung themselves down from balustrades and the capitals of pilasters by ropes, to do this work. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- These outlaws have indeed a daring captain; but without machines, scaling ladders, and experienced leaders, my castle may defy them. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- The ladders are thrown down, replied Rebecca, shuddering; the soldiers lie grovelling under them like crushed reptiles--The besieged have the better. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- I found they had already applied ladders to the walls of the apartment, and were well provided with buckets, but the water was at some distance. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
Checked by Eli