rope ladder
3
3.4
- noun
- /roʊp ˈlædər/
- You know that Agent Booth would have a swinging rope ladder out.
- climbing a rope ladder
- rope ladder hanging
- rope ladder dangling
Examples
-
The boys throw two rope ladders over the rail of the larger ship and start climbing.
Fiction book (2002) -
"I just have to prepare myself for it." Nguyen opened a cabinet door, which revealed a rolled-up rope ladder with teak treads.
Fiction book (1999) -
A helicopter could have reached them, I supposed, one with a rope ladder.
Fiction book (1999) -
The grapnel and the rope ladder take up a lot of room.
-
Armed men and women from the Brewery are climbing a rope ladder to join them.
Fiction book (2002) -
The rope ladder caught on the second try, and up we scurried.
Fiction book (1999) -
The Yankee copter's pilot has dropped a rope ladder down,
-
Tzemach held onto the rope ladder with both hands and panted for breath.
Fiction book (1996) -
A handful found a rope ladder and were in the process of rescuing Bait and the unconscious guard from the muddy pen.
Fiction book (1992) -
The climber used a rope ladder to reach the helicopter hovering above the cliff.
Synonyms
242
1.0
A frame with steps used to climb up or down
1
8.8
A hanging ladder made of rope or chain with wooden rungs used on ships
1
6.5
A ladder lowered from a ship to let people climb aboard from the water or a small boat
1
6.3
A rope ladder with wooden or metal steps that you use to board a ship from a small boat
A rope or chain with steps used to climb between a ship and small boats
How Stable
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a ladder made of rope' is directly and compositionally derived from combining 'rope' (twisted fiber cord) with 'ladder' (frame with rungs); there is no idiomatic shift. This noun–noun compounding pattern is common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Rope ladder: The noun rope ladder names a ladder with sides of rope and steps called 'rungs'. Imagine a soft ladder hanging from a ship or a tree you can pull up by hand. Because it is light and flexible, a rope ladder is used where a hard ladder will not fit, so the name means a ladder for quick or emergency 'escape' or boarding.