escalator
/ˈɛs.kə.leɪ.tɚ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.02 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A motor-driven mechanical device consisting of a continuous loop of steps that automatically conveys people from one floor to another.
noun
An upward or progressive course.
noun
An escalator clause.
Example Sentences
- "Fourth, communication researchers study the role of stress and negative attitudes as key contributors to conflict, anger as an escalator of conflict, and emotional residues as barriers to reconciliation."
- "There is a plastic molly-guard covering the escalator's shutdown button to prevent little kids from pushing it and stopping the escalator."
- "It was the Earls Court installation on the Piccadilly tube, opened on October 4, 1911, which really began the successful career of the escalator in this country. At first the public mistrusted it, and a wooden-legged man called "Bumper" Harris was engaged to travel up and down all day to give passengers confidence. Today there are 181 escalators at 57 London Transport stations."
- "I found the Tube trains morbidly fascinating, I had a simpler enthusiasm for the escalators. Everyone likes going on escalators as far as I know. It feels like a free ride, and the longer they are, the better. The only escalator in York was at Marks & Spencer's, and people would hesitate for ages before getting on, apparently waiting for the right stair to come rolling along, whereas Londoners would step on while reading a newspaper."
- "Episode Guide: [...] Episode 1 (July 13): Exploration of both ends of the abandoned branch between Holborn and Aldwych, including an interview with the driver of the last train. And a trip to Holloway Road to find out about the Tube's only spiral escalator. [This escalator never entered service]"
- "Lots of people fell for the pitch that real estate was an up-only escalator into the American Dream"
Etymology
By genericization from the former trademark Escalator, created by American inventor Charles Seeberger in 1900, from Latin ē- (“from, out of”) + scala (“ladder”) + -tor, which forms nouns of agency; see the appendix. Broader usage may be influenced by its derivative escalate, by surface analysis, escalate + -or. For an alternative etymology, see the Online Etymology Dictionary.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: ex-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɛs.kə.leɪ.tɚ/
- British English: /ˈɛs.kə.leɪ.tə/