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Synonyms

escalade

American  
[es-kuh-leyd, -lahd, es-kuh-leyd, -lahd] / ˌɛs kəˈleɪd, -ˈlɑd, ˈɛs kəˌleɪd, -ˌlɑd /

noun

  1. a scaling or mounting by means of ladders, especially in an assault upon a fortified place.

verb (used with object)

escaladed, escalading

  1. to mount, pass, or enter by means of ladders.

escalade British  
/ ˌɛskəˈleɪd /

noun

  1. an assault by the use of ladders, esp on a fortification

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to gain access to (a place) by the use of ladders

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • escalader noun

Etymology

Origin of escalade

1590–1600; < Middle French < Old Provençal *escalada, equivalent to escal ( ar ) to scale 3 + -ada -ade 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

By this time the freebooters had won the drawbridge, and, displaying their colours on the edge of the ditch, demanded means for the escalade.

From The Monarchs of the Main, Volume III (of 3) Or, Adventures of the Buccaneers by Thornbury, Walter

These provided flanking fire along the front; they also afforded refuges for the garrison in case of a successful escalade, and from them the platform could be enfiladed.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6 "Foraminifera" to "Fox, Edward" by Various

The position was of great strength, and would have been an ugly place to carry by escalade.

From Nooks and Corners of the New England Coast by Drake, Samuel Adams

For it is according to eternal fitness, that the precipitated Titan should still seek to regain his paternal birthright even by fierce escalade.

From Pierre; or The Ambiguities by Melville, Herman

Seizing one of the axes, I attacked the lower rigging vigorously, cutting through shrouds, slings, braces, and halyards, everything that came within reach, thus making my position secure from escalade.

From A Lad of Grit A Story of Adventure on Land and Sea in Restoration Times by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.