Definition

Noun: * (Nautical) A ladder to be lowered over a ship's side for coming aboard: A set of portable steps, often made of rope or metal, that can be deployed from the side of a ship to allow people to climb up from a smaller boat or from the water.

Usage

• Primary Usage: The term is used specifically in a nautical (maritime) context to describe a piece of ship's equipment.
  • The crew lowered the sea steps so the visitors could board from their launch.
  • Before the pilot came aboard, the officer ordered, "Rig the sea steps."

Advanced Usage

• The term is highly specialized and is primarily found in operational commands, maritime manuals, or historical nautical fiction. It is not commonly used in everyday modern English outside of these contexts.

Variants and Related Words

• Accommodation ladder: A more formal and often fixed set of steps on the side of a ship, serving a similar purpose but typically more substantial than simple "sea steps."
• Gangway: A broader term for any opening in a ship's rail or a temporary bridge for boarding; it may incorporate steps.
• Jacob's ladder: A flexible, rope ladder with wooden rungs used over a ship's side.

Synonyms

• Boarding ladder
• Ship's ladder

Notes on Meaning

• The term almost exclusively retains its singular, literal nautical meaning. It does not have common idiomatic or metaphorical uses in modern English.

Noun

1. (nautical) ladder to be lowered over a ship's side for coming aboard