climber

Etymology 1

From Middle English climber, clymber, clymbare (“one who climbs, climber”), from climben (“to climb; to ascend, fly upward, rise; to slope upwards; to approach God in prayer; to advance; to overcome, triumph; to aspire; to be presumptuous”) + -er, -ere (suffix forming agent nouns). The English word is analysable as climb (verb) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns).

noun

1. Someone or something that climbs (such as a mountain climber).
   1. (botany) A plant such as a vine that climbs upwards as it grows by attaching itself to some support.
   2. (cycle racing) A cyclist who specializes in riding especially well on steep hills or roads.
   3. (figurative, derogatory) A person who is constantly trying to get ahead socially.
   4. (ornithology) A bird that climbs, such as a parrot or woodpecker; specifically (archaic), a bird having two toes pointing forward, and two pointing backward, formerly regarded as being from the order Scansores or Zygodactyli (now obsolete as the birds formerly in this order have been reclassified into different orders); a zygodactyl.
2. Something that is used for climbing.
   1. (chiefly Canada) Any structure on a playground designed to be climbed on.
      If his greatest hits are museum climbers that complement the subject matter in surrounding exhibits, then "the mall jobs," he says, which are more about color and composition, "are little ditties." 2016-09-28, Megan Gambino, “King of the Playground, Spencer Luckey, Builds Climbers That Are Engineering Marvels”, in Smithsonian Magazine, archived from the original on 2022-12-10
      Regardless of the design, the playground will include a traditional climber with a ramp, an upper-level climber, multiple climbing and balance opportunities, junior slides, two senior slides, a wheelchair accessible bouncing glider, a pull along slide, activity panels, a freestanding climber and swings. 2019-05-13, “Eastview Community Park wants your input for new playground”, in Guelph Today, archived from the original on 2023-03-04
      Students raced in a swarm to be the first to the top of Monterey middle school’s newest piece of playground equipment, a $50,000 climber, when principal Ken Andrews removed the yellow tape on Friday. 2019-06-04, Travis Paterson, “Monterey installs playground climber to kids’ delight”, in Victoria News, archived from the original on 2021-12-06
      We've been working for the past year to bring an inclusive zipline and a spinning rope climber to the playground! 2022-07-13, Nixon Norman, quoting Jessica Berkholtz, “Cove Universal Playground receives exciting and inclusive new additions”, in WZDX, archived from the original on 2022-08-11
      The new playground, which is made of wood, features a climber, swings, a sand play area with a play hut and digging toys. 2022-09-26, “New playground installed at Errington Community Park”, in CHEK News, archived from the original on 2022-10-07
   2. (climbing) Synonym of climbing iron (“a kind of crampon attached to the shoe to aid with climbing”)

Etymology 2

From climb + -er (frequentative suffix); or a blend of climb + clamber.

verb

1. (intransitive, obsolete) To ascend or mount with effort; to clamber, to climb.