lad·der (lăd'ər)
n.

1. 1. An often portable structure consisting of two long sides crossed by parallel rungs, used to climb up and down.
   2. Something that resembles this device, especially a run in a stocking.
2. 1. A means of ascent and descent: ascending the social ladder.
   2. A series of ranked stages or levels: high on the executive ladder.

intr.v., -dered, -der·ing, -ders.
To run, as a stocking does.

[Middle English, from Old English hlǣder.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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