A ladder is a thing with steps that helps people go higher or lower. You can use it at home or work. It is often made of wood or metal.
I use the ladder to reach the roof.
Be careful when climbing the tall ladder.
This meaning is about jobs or groups. A ladder shows different levels people can reach. Moving up the ladder means getting a better job or more power.
He climbed the ladder to become manager.
She wants to move up the company ladder.
This meaning is about a small tear in clothes like tights. It looks like lines of a ladder. It is common with thin clothes on legs.
She found a ladder in her new stockings.
The ladder in her tights got bigger quickly.
This is a special kind of ladder used outside. It supports wires for electricity or phone lines. People use it to climb poles safely.
The workers fixed the ladder on the telephone pole.
The ladder holds the wires above the street.
To ladder means to climb something using a ladder. It can also mean climbing other things carefully. We use this verb less often, but it is correct.
He laddered up to fix the roof.
They laddered the wall quickly.
In music, sometimes a ladder means a series of notes going up or down in order. It's like steps in music to help learn scales and melodies.
The finger moved up the ladder of notes.
This ladder shows the order of the musical scale.
Here, ladder means a way to measure or show levels in things like success or progress. It helps people see where they are in a group or system.
The ladder of success is different for each person.
We use the ladder to compare different levels.