ladder

1. (figuratively) A series of stages by which one progresses to a better position.Examples: "Newcastle had won both their previous fixtures in 2011 but were terribly disappointing at Broadhall Way against opponents 73 places below them in the footballing ladder."figuratively

2. (figuratively) The hierarchy or ranking system within an organization, such as the corporate ladder.Examples: "Many publicly held companies do have good working conditions, but they often employ mostly high-wage workers or offer different levels of working conditions and benefits to management employees than to workers at the bottom of the ladder."figuratively

3. (chiefly British) A length of unravelled fabric in a knitted garment, especially in nylon stockings; a run.Examples: "Proposed Standard of Needlework to be required from Pupil-teachers at the Yearly Visits of Her Majesty's Inspectors. […] Darning Stockings.—To show a hole darned, and a thin place "run" (or strengthened), and a ladder properly taken up in a coarse worsted stocking."; "You've got a huge ladder in your stockings. I've got a spare pair in my bag, come to the Ladies and you can change."Synonyms: runBritish

4. (go) A sequence of moves following a zigzag pattern and ultimately leading to the capture of the attacked stones.Examples: "The most dramatic introduction to the idea of how stones relate to each other over distance is how players react when a ladder (shicho, "she-ko"^([sic]) in Japanese) [シチョウ (shichō)] develops. […] Ouch! This is finding out about the ladder, which is called that because of the steplike shape that the defending stones are forced into."