escalator
es·ca·la·tor/ˈɛs.kə.leɪ.tɚ/noun, verb
escalator is spelled E-S-C-A-L-A-T-O-R: 9 letters and 4 syllables (es·ca·la·tor). It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,214th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, escalator means “Anything that escalates” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of escalator is escalators.
How many letters and syllables are in escalator?
| Letters | 9: E-S-C-A-L-A-T-O-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: es·ca·la·tor |
| In writing | 1.0 times per million words; the 28,214th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is escalator?
Escalator appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,214th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce escalator?
- UK /ˈɛs.kə.leɪ.tə/
- US /ˈɛs.kə.leɪ.tɚ/
Escalator has 4 syllables, split es·ca·la·tor in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-escalator.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of escalator
- escalators plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- escalatoring participle, present
- escalatored participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does escalator mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Anything that escalates.
- 2
A motor-driven mechanical device consisting of a continuous loop of steps that automatically conveys people from one floor to another.
There is a plastic molly-guard covering the escalator's shutdown button to prevent little kids from pushing it and stopping the escalator.
- 3
An upward or progressive course.
- 4
An escalator clause.
They agreed to a cost-of-living escalator.
verb
- 1
informalTo move by escalator.
We escalatored to the second floor.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Escalator in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense mechanical device:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | escalator, escalier mécanique, escalateur |
| German | Rolltreppe, Fahrtreppe |
| Portuguese | escada rolante |
| Spanish | escalera mecánica, escalera rodante |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does escalator come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).