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Glite Dictionary
moving staircase

moving staircase

3.5
A stairway with moving steps that carries people between floors
  • noun
translation icon : escalera mecánica
  • Sometimes the cascade looked like a moving staircase—an escalator—or a playing-cards ladder.

Examples

  • At the mall, you can take a moving staircase to access the upper floors without having to climb stairs.

  • The hotel lobby has a moving staircase that transports guests smoothly between levels.

  • The airport features a moving staircase to help travelers easily reach the departure gates.

Synonyms

escalator
vsmoving staircase
46 1.2

A moving staircase that carries people between floors

is similar but focuses on steps moving on a belt rather than motor detail
moving stairway
vsmoving staircase
3.1

A set of steps that move to carry people between floors

is the same meaning but uses an alternative common word form

Surface Forms

moving staircase singular
moving staircases plural

Morphology

moving + staircase

The meaning is directly compositional: 'moving' modifies 'staircase', so a learner who knows both words can infer a staircase that moves to transport people between floors. This adjective+noun composition is a common and predictable pattern in English (and in many languages there are analogous constructions or a lexicalized equivalent like 'escalator'), so the expression is immediately accessible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Moving staircase comes from the simple image of a staircase whose moving steps go around like a belt and carry people who stand on them. So it means 'a stairway with steps that move' used to take people between floors.