escalator

[ es-kuh-ley-ter ]

noun

1. a continuously moving staircase on an endless loop for carrying passengers up or down.
2. a means of rising or descending, increasing or decreasing, etc., especially by stages:

   the social escalator.

3. escalator clause ( def ).

adjective

1. of, relating to, or included in an escalator clause:

   The union demands escalator protection of wages.

escalator

/ ˈɛskəˌleɪtə /

noun

1. a moving staircase consisting of stair treads fixed to a conveyor belt, for transporting passengers between levels, esp between the floors of a building
2. short for escalator clause

Word History and Origins

Origin of escalator¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1895–1900; formerly a trademark; perhaps escal(ade) + (elev)ator

Word History and Origins

Origin of escalator¹

C20: originally a trademark

Example Sentences

From the moment he rode a golden escalator downward and into the queasy gut of American political life, Donald Trump did it his way — unbridled by precedent, often powered by “alternative facts” and dedicated to the proposition that only he could “make America great again.”

From Los Angeles Times

By the time Trump had glided down his golden escalator to announce his candidacy a year earlier, the nation was accustomed to rancor and sharpening divisions.

From Los Angeles Times

My entire professional life has been in direct opposition to the radical ideology he’s adopted at a quickening rate since Trump first descended that escalator.

From Slate

Giuliani's speech carried echoes of Trump's presidential run announcement, in which he rode down an escalator to call Mexicans "criminals" and "rapists" before adding that "some of them, I'm sure, are good people."

From Salon

After descending down a gold escalator at Trump Tower, the site of his family’s penthouse that was their primary residence until 2019, Trump announced his White House bid.

From Los Angeles Times