Dictionary
Thesaurus
Medical
Scrabble®
Spanish Central
Browse DictionaryBrowse Thesaurus
Get our free apps!iPhone•iPad•Android
Games
Word of the Day
Video
Blog: Words at Play
My Faves
Dictionary

ascender

noun as·cend·er \ə-ˈsen-dər, ˈa-\

Definition of ASCENDER

1
:  the part of a lowercase letter (as b) that rises above the main body of the letter; also :  a letter that has such a part
2
:  a device used for climbing rope that slides freely in one direction and grips the rope when pulled in the opposite direction
ADVERTISEMENT

First Known Use of ASCENDER

circa 1867

Rhymes with ASCENDER

amender, attender, auslander, bartender, commender, contender, defender, descender, emender, engender, expender, extender, fork-tender, goaltender, hellbender, intender, offender, pretender, surrender, suspender, tailender, transgender, weekender

Learn More About ASCENDER

Browse

Next Word in the Dictionary: ascendingPrevious Word in the Dictionary: ascendant All Words Near: ascender
ADVERTISEMENT
10 Charming Words for Nasty People
Put-downs with flair
Learn More
When "Literally" isn't, well, literal
How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts.
Watch Now
Know what this is?
Test your vocab with our fun, fast game
Go Play
Fear of cats?
Ailurophobia, and 9 other unusual fears
Learn More
Join Us
Merriam-Webster
on Facebook
Merriam-Webster
on Twitter
Bookstore: Digital and Print
Merriam-Webster references for Mobile, Kindle, print, and more.
See All
Other Merriam-Webster Dictionaries