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Glite Dictionary
jack ladder

jack ladder

9.4
A rope or chain with steps used to climb between a ship and small boats
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : escalera de cuerda
  • The sailors quickly climbed the jack ladder to reach the deck.

Examples

  • Emergency drills required everyone to descend the jack ladder safely.

  • A jack ladder was secured to the side of the ship for boarding small boats.

  • The crew quickly set up the jack ladder to board the ship.

  • He climbed the jack ladder with ease.

  • A jack ladder was secured to the side of the ship for boarding small boats.

  • Emergency drills required everyone to descend the jack ladder safely.

  • The sailors quickly climbed the jack ladder to reach the deck.

Synonyms

ladder
vsjack ladder
202 1.0

A frame with steps used to climb up or down

is the specific ship boarding rope form rather than general climbing equipment
rope ladder
vsjack ladder
4 3.4

A ladder made of ropes and wooden steps used when a regular ladder cannot be used

is the ship boarding version made for flexible use at sea
Jacob's ladder
vsjack ladder
8.8

A hanging ladder made of rope or chain with wooden rungs used on ships

is the nautical boarding form used on ships rather than other hanging types
pilot ladder
vsjack ladder
  • Specialized
6.3

A rope ladder with wooden or metal steps that you use to board a ship from a small boat

is the broader ship boarding form not limited to small boat transfers
sea ladder
vsjack ladder
  • Specialized
6.5

A ladder lowered from a ship to let people climb aboard from the water or a small boat

is a general ship boarding form used in many open water transfer situations

Surface Forms

jack ladder singular
jack ladders plural

Morphology

Jack + ladder

The meaning is directly derivable from 'Jack' (a sailor) combined with 'ladder' — a ladder associated with sailors or shipboard use, i.e. a boarding rope/chain ladder. This follows a productive noun–noun compounding pattern in English, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the nautical sense.

Etymology

Jack ladder comes from life on ships, where sailors used a light rope or chain ladder with wooden steps to climb between the ship and a small boat, and one popular idea is that jack showed it was small and easy to carry. So Jack ladder today means 'a rope or chain ladder used on a ship for boarding or moving between decks'.