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Glite Dictionary
scaling ladder

scaling ladder

7.0
A portable tool that has steps to climb over high walls during an attack
  • noun
  • /ˈskeɪlɪŋ ˈlædər/
translation icon : escalera de asalto
  • The soldiers used a scaling ladder to breach the enemy's defenses.

Examples

  • The castle's defenders pushed away every scaling ladder their attackers brought forward.

  • A sturdy scaling ladder was essential equipment for medieval armies attempting to storm a city.

  • The soldiers used a scaling ladder to breach the fortress walls during the siege.

  • During the siege, they quickly assembled a scaling ladder.

  • The troops advanced towards the fortress, carrying scaling ladders to breach the walls.

  • During the siege, soldiers used scaling ladders to climb over the barricades and capture the city.

  • The commander ordered the team to prepare their scaling ladders for the midnight attack on the castle.

Synonyms

ladder
vsscaling ladder
202 1.0

A frame with steps used to climb up or down

is a portable type used specifically to climb over walls in military attacks
rope ladder
vsscaling ladder
4 3.4

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

is portable and designed to be carried to climb over walls during attacks

Surface Forms

scaling ladder singular
scaling ladders plural

Morphology

scaling + ladder

The compound is directly compositional: 'scaling' means climbing and 'ladder' is a climbing frame, so together they denote a ladder used for climbing (e.g., over walls). This noun+noun formation follows regular English compounding patterns and is cross-linguistically obvious, so a B1 learner knowing the parts would understand it.

Etymology

The noun scaling ladder comes from war times when soldiers carried a short ladder to climb the high walls of a castle. The word scaling means 'to climb over', so a scaling ladder is the portable ladder used to cross walls during an attack.