climber

/ˈklaɪmər/

/ˈklaɪmə/

Other forms: climbers

A climber is a person who hikes up steep, rocky mountains and hills. If you want to be a mountain climber, you should start with small ones before tackling Mount Everest.

Climbers pull themselves up the steep, craggy sides of mountains or practice on rock walls at the gym. A person who aspires to belong to a fancier social group is another kind of climber: "He's hanging out with the rich kids again — I didn't realize he was such a climber." When you're talking about plants, a climber is anything vine-like that grows up structures: "That rose is a climber. It'll cover your fence by the end of the summer."

Definitions of climber

1. noun

   someone who ascends on foot
   synonyms: mounter

   type of:

   ascender

   someone who ascends
2. noun

   someone who climbs as a sport; especially someone who climbs mountains
   “the lead climber looked strong still but his partner often slumped in his ropes”

   types:

   escalader

   someone who gains access by the use of ladders

   mountain climber, mountaineer

   someone who climbs mountains

   cragsman, rock climber

   a climber of vertical rock faces

   alpinist

   a mountain climber who specializes in difficult climbs

   type of:

   athlete, jock

   a person trained to compete in sports
3. noun

   someone seeking social prominence by obsequious behavior
   synonyms: social climber

   types:

   lion-hunter

   someone who tries to attract social lions as guests

   type of:

   arriviste, nouveau-riche, parvenu, upstart

   a person who has suddenly risen to a higher economic status but has not gained social acceptance of others in that class
4. noun

   a vine or climbing plant that readily grows up a support or over other plants
   types:

   clematis

   any of various ornamental climbing plants of the genus Clematis usually having showy flowers

   legume, leguminous plant

   an erect or climbing bean or pea plant of the family Leguminosae

   Agdestis, genus Agdestis

   a genus with one species that is a rapidly growing climbing vine with tuberous roots; grown in hot climates

   climbing fern

   any of several ferns of the genus Lygodium that climb by twining

   root climber

   a plant that climbs by its adventitious roots e.g. ivy

   Clematis baldwinii, Viorna baldwinii, pine hyacinth

   erect clematis of Florida having pink to purple flowers

   Clematis crispa, blue jasmine, blue jessamine, curly clematis, marsh clematis

   climber of southern United States having bluish-purple flowers

   Clematis lasiantha, pipestem clematis

   clematis of California

   Clematis ochreleuca, curly-heads

   shrubby clematis of the eastern United States having curly foliage

   Clematis tangutica, golden clematis

   Chinese clematis with serrate leaves and large yellow flowers

   Clematis texensis, scarlet clematis

   woody vine of Texas having showy solitary nodding scarlet flowers

   Clematis versicolor, leather flower

   woody vine of the southern United States having purple or blue flowers with leathery recurved sepals

   Clematis viorna, leather flower, vase vine, vase-fine

   scandent subshrub of southeastern United States having large red-purple bell-shaped flowers with leathery recurved sepals

   Clematis virginiana, devil's darning needle, old man's beard, virgin's bower

   common climber of eastern North America that sprawls over other plants and bears numerous panicles of small creamy white flowers

   Clematis vitalba, old man's beard, traveler's joy, traveller's joy

   vigorous deciduous climber of Europe to Afghanistan and Lebanon having panicles of fragrant green-white flowers in summer and autumn

   Clematis verticillaris, mountain clematis, purple clematis, purple virgin's bower

   climber of northeastern North America having waxy purplish-blue flowers

   Arachis hypogaea, peanut, peanut vine

   widely cultivated American plant cultivated in tropical and warm regions; showy yellow flowers on stalks that bend over to the soil so that seed pods ripen underground

   Cicer arietinum, Egyptian pea, chickpea, chickpea plant

   Asiatic herb cultivated for its short pods with one or two edible seeds

   Cyamopsis psoraloides, Cyamopsis tetragonolobus, cluster bean, guar

   drought-tolerant herb grown for forage and for its seed which yield a gum used as a thickening agent or sizing material

   Glycine max, soja, soja bean, soy, soya, soya bean, soybean, soybean plant

   erect bushy hairy annual herb having trifoliate leaves and purple to pink flowers; extensively cultivated for food and forage and soil improvement but especially for its nutritious oil-rich seeds; native to Asia

   wild pea

   any of various plants of the family Leguminosae that usually grow like vines

   Lens culinaris, lentil, lentil plant

   widely cultivated Eurasian annual herb grown for its edible flattened seeds that are cooked like peas and also ground into meal and for its leafy stalks that are used as fodder

   Dolichos biflorus, Macrotyloma uniflorum, horse grain, horse gram, poor man's pulse

   twining herb of Old World tropics cultivated in India for food and fodder; sometimes placed in genus Dolichos

   crazy weed, crazyweed, locoweed

   any of several leguminous plants of western North America causing locoism in livestock

   bean, bean plant

   any of various leguminous plants grown for their edible seeds and pods

   pea, pea plant

   a leguminous plant of the genus Pisum with small white flowers and long green pods containing edible green seeds

   sesbania

   any of various plants of the genus Sesbania having pinnate leaves and large showy pea-like flowers

   vetch

   any of various climbing plants of the genus Vicia having pinnately compound leaves that terminate in tendrils and small variously colored flowers; includes valuable forage and soil-building plants

   Phaseolus aconitifolius, Vigna aconitifolia, moth bean

   East Indian legume having hairy foliage and small yellow flowers followed by cylindrical pods; used especially in India for food and forage and as a soil conditioner; sometimes placed in genus Phaseolus

   Phaseolus angularis, Vigna angularis, adsuki bean, adzuki bean

   bushy annual widely grown in China and Japan for the flour made from its seeds

   Phaseolus caracalla, Vigna caracalla, corkscrew flower, snail bean, snail flower, snail-flower, snailflower

   perennial tropical American vine cultivated for its racemes of showy yellow and purple flowers having the corolla keel coiled like a snail shell; sometimes placed in genus Phaseolus

   Phaseolus aureus, Vigna radiata, golden gram, green gram, mung, mung bean

   erect bushy annual widely cultivated in warm regions of India and Indonesia and United States for forage and especially its edible seeds; chief source of bean sprouts used in Chinese cookery; sometimes placed in genus Phaseolus

   Vigna sinensis, Vigna unguiculata, black-eyed pea, cowpea, cowpea plant

   sprawling Old World annual cultivated especially in southern United States for food and forage and green manure

   Vigna sesquipedalis, Vigna unguiculata sesquipedalis, asparagus bean, yard-long bean

   South American bean having very long succulent pods

   Hartford fern, Lygodium palmatum, creeping fern

   delicate fern of the eastern United States having a twining stem and palmately-lobed sterile fronds and forked fertile fronds

   Lygodium microphyllum, climbing maidenhair, climbing maidenhair fern, snake fern

   tropical fern widespread in Old World; naturalized in Jamaica and Florida

   type of:

   vine

   a plant with a weak stem that derives support from climbing, twining, or creeping along a surface
5. noun

   an iron spike attached to the shoe to prevent slipping on ice when walking or climbing
   synonyms: climbing iron, crampon, crampoon

   type of:

   spike

   sports equipment consisting of a sharp point on the sole of a shoe worn by athletes