rope-ladder

A firefighter climbs down a rope-ladder from a window.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A flexible ladder made of two long ropes connected by short crosspieces (rungs), typically made of wood or metal; used for climbing, often temporarily or in situations where a rigid ladder is impractical (e.g., on ships, for rescue operations, or in children's play).

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The sailor climbed down the rope-ladder to the small boat below. (A ladder made of ropes and rungs used for descending from a ship.)
  • The children hung a rope-ladder from the treehouse for easy access. (A flexible ladder used for climbing into a play structure.)
  • During the fire drill, the students used a rope-ladder to escape from the second-floor window. (A temporary ladder for emergency evacuation.)

Advanced Usage

• "to be like a rope-ladder": (figurative) to describe something that is flexible yet structured, or that requires careful, step-by-step progress.
  • His career path was like a rope-ladder — each step was uncertain but necessary for advancement. (Metaphor for a precarious but sequential journey.)

Variants and Related Words

• Rope ladder (alternative spelling): The same object, often written as two separate words.

  • They threw a rope ladder over the wall. (Same meaning, different orthography.)

• Ladder (n): a rigid or flexible structure with rungs, used for climbing.

  • The painter used a wooden ladder to reach the ceiling. (A general term for climbing aids.)

Synonyms

• Jacob's ladder: a specific type of rope-ladder used on ships, with wooden rungs and rope sides.
• Scaling ladder: a ladder used for climbing walls or obstacles, often flexible in design.

Related Idioms

• "Climbing the rope-ladder of success": a metaphor for achieving success through difficult, step-by-step effort.

  • She worked her way up the corporate rope-ladder, one promotion at a time. (Achieving success gradually and with effort.)

• "A rope-ladder to nowhere": something that promises progress but leads to a dead end.

  • That job offer was a rope-ladder to nowhere — it paid well but had no future. (A deceptive or futile opportunity.)