accommodation ladder
- noun
- /əˌkɒməˈdeɪʃən ˈlædər/
- Specialized
- The crew lowered the accommodation ladder for the passengers.
Examples
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Inspectors climbed the accommodation ladder to board the vessel for a routine check.
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A safety line was rigged along the accommodation ladder to help people during rough seas.
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The crew lowered the accommodation ladder so that passengers could board the waiting boat.
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Many ships use an accommodation ladder to facilitate boarding.
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The crew lowered the accommodation ladder so the passengers could board the smaller boat.
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To reach the pier, the captain instructed the sailors to prepare the accommodation ladder.
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As the ship docked, the accommodation ladder was extended to allow easy access to the shore.
Synonyms
A frame with steps used to climb up or down
A ladder lowered from a ship to let people climb aboard from the water or a small boat
A ladder that hangs over the side of a ship to help people climb aboard from the water
A rope ladder with wooden or metal steps that you use to board a ship from a small boat
A hanging ladder made of rope or chain with wooden rungs used on ships
How Portable
Surface Forms
Morphology
accommodation + ladder
Although 'ladder' is transparent, the modifier 'accommodation' here has a specialized nautical sense (a stairway used to give access alongside a ship) that a B1 learner who knows 'accommodation' as 'lodging' or 'arrangement' would not predict. The meaning is technical and jargon-like rather than compositionally derived from common senses of the parts, so it is not readily inferable.
Etymology
Accommodation ladder is a stair or ladder hung over the side of a ship so people can climb to a boat or a pier. The name combines accommodation ('to help people get on') and ladder, so it means a portable stair used to let people board or leave a ship.