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Glite Dictionary
ski lift

ski lift

4 2.7
A machine with seats on a moving cable that carries skiers up a slope
  • noun
  • /ski lɪft/
  • UK
: teleférico
  • The ski lift had a metal seat no wider and no more substantial than a backyard swing's.
  • ski lift ticket
  • ski lift ride
  • ski lift up the mountain

The worst part of sandboarding is there's no ski lift to take you back to the top and sand is really hard to walk in.

Examples

  • All transportation was by train, bus, or ski lifts.

    Academic text (2006)

  • - We were on a ski lift in Aspen and I fell.

    The Women (2008)

  • To one side, the ski lift seats are rising.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • I took her up to Sundance on the ski lift.

    Blog text (27)

  • " I can't imagine how I could have been so dumb, getting on the wrong ski lift.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Liftopia is the largest seller of ski lift tickets online.

    Blog text (28)

  • We hit Alta Vista Ski Area, we might even use the ski lift.

    Elevation (2024)

  • The fact is, as each year goes by, the buildings and ski lifts at Powder Ridge get older and deteriorate.

    Blog text (19)

  • We set off on Christmas afternoon, expecting to find brown slopes and idle ski lifts.

    Academic text (1996)

  • The ski lift carried us effortlessly to the top of the snowy mountain.

Synonyms

lift
vsski lift
  • UK
123 1.9

A machine that carries people or goods between floors

is specifically a cable system with seats or cabins for uphill transport
ski tow
vsski lift
  • UK
3.6

A machine with a moving rope that pulls skiers up a slope

uses seats or cabins to carry people up rather than pulling them directly

How Fast

cable car
11 3.5
ski lift
  • UK
4 2.7
chairlift
5 3.4
T-bar
1 7.7
rope tow
  • Jargon
1 5.4

Surface Forms

ski lift singular
ski lifts plural

Morphology

ski + lift

The meaning is a straightforward composition of 'ski' (related to skiing) and 'lift' (a mechanical device that raises or carries), so a learner who knows both words can infer a device that carries skiers uphill. This noun-noun compounding is literal and cross-linguistically common, making it immediately comprehensible to B1 learners.

Etymology

The name ski lift gives a clear picture: ski (a person on skis) plus lift (something that lifts). It is a line of chairs or cabins pulled up the mountain to carry people. So ski lift means 'a machine that takes skiers up a slope'.