🪜Ladder emoji
Objects · Emoji 13.0

🪜Ladder Emoji

Generally, the 🪜 emoji means “climbing,” “progress,” or “steps. ” It’s used to indicate moving upwards, either literally or figuratively, in a conversation.

The 🪜 emoji represents a ladder.

Download PNG / SVG
Unicode
U+1FA9C
Released
2020
Shortcode
:ladder:
Skin tones
No
🪜
Your device
01 — Meaning

What does the 🪜 Ladder emoji mean?

In plain english
Generally, the 🪜 emoji means “climbing,” “progress,” or “steps.” It’s used to indicate moving upwards, either literally or figuratively, in a conversation. 🪜 sits in object emojis, where it is listed next to everything used the same way.
Where it comes from
The 🪜 emoji represents a ladder. It’s often used to talk about climbing, reaching higher goals, or simply ascending something. People use it when they're talking about progress, ambition, or even just a physical climb like stairs. It can also be used humorously to represent something complicated or needing a bit of effort.
Also known as

People search for it under a lot of different names. All of these point at the same character.

climb emojirung emojistep emoji
02 — Platforms

Ladder emoji on iPhone, Android, WhatsApp and X

The character is always U+1FA9C — but every vendor draws it their own way. This is what your ladder looks like to the person on the other side.

Ladder emoji on Apple
Apple
iPhone, iPad, macOS
Ladder emoji on Google
Google
Android, Gmail, Chrome
Ladder emoji on Twitter / X
Twitter / X
X, Discord, Twemoji apps
Ladder emoji on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook, Messenger
Ladder emoji on OpenMoji
OpenMoji
Open-source, design systems
Ladder emoji on Samsung
Samsung
Galaxy, One UI
Ladder emoji on Microsoft
Microsoft
Windows, Teams, Fluent
Ladder emoji on WhatsApp
WhatsApp
WhatsApp on Android
Ladder emoji on JoyPixels
JoyPixels
Slack, Discord themes

See the whole set the way each system draws it — iPhone emojis, Android emojis, WhatsApp emojis and Discord emojis.

03 — Copy & codes

Ladder emoji copy and paste

Tap any value to copy it. The emoji itself works everywhere, the escapes are for your code, and the shortcode Slack and Discord expect is :ladder:.

All emoji copy and paste →

In your code

Escapes for the languages people actually paste this into. Every one of them produces the same character, and that character is U+1FA9C.

04 — How to type

How to type the 🪜 Ladder emoji

No picker to hand? The ladder can be typed straight from the keyboard — the codes for that are below, one per system.

iPhone & iPad
Tap the smiley or globe key at the bottom-left of the keyboard, then search “ladder”. No emoji key? Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → Emoji.
Android
On Gboard tap the smiley key, or long-press the Enter or comma key. On Samsung Keyboard the emoji button sits behind the gear icon.
Windows & Mac
Windows: press Win + . for the emoji panel. Mac: Control + Command + Space. Then type “ladder”.
Slack & Discord
Type the shortcode :ladder: and it converts to 🪜 as you send. The full set is on the Discord emoji page.
Websites & code
In HTML use 🪜, in CSS \1FA9C, in JavaScript \u{1FA9C}.
No picker to hand? The online emoji keyboard works in any browser, and every character on the site is listed on emoji copy and paste.
05 — Download

Ladder emoji PNG and SVG

Transparent PNG and SVG for thumbnails, decks and design files — one file per vendor, which makes 9. Artwork belongs to whoever drew it, so check the licence before commercial use.

Emoji PNG library →
Download Ladder emoji, Apple style Apple PNG · 160px Download Ladder emoji, Google style Google PNG · 160px Download Ladder emoji, Twitter / X style Twitter / X SVG vector Download Ladder emoji, Facebook style Facebook PNG · 64px Download Ladder emoji, OpenMoji style OpenMoji SVG vector Download Ladder emoji, Samsung style Samsung PNG · 64px Download Ladder emoji, Microsoft style Microsoft PNG · 64px Download Ladder emoji, WhatsApp style WhatsApp PNG · 64px Download Ladder emoji, JoyPixels style JoyPixels PNG · 64px
06 — Combinations

Ladder emoji combinations

Ready-made combos built around ladder for bios, captions and comments. Tap to copy.

All combinations →
Cool ladder combos
Flex ladder combos
Aesthetic ladder combos
Cute ladder combos
Dark ladder combos
Party ladder combos
Love ladder combos
Mood ladder combos
Unhinged ladder combos
Soft ladder combos
Late night ladder combos
Summer ladder combos
Gaming ladder combos
Y2K ladder combos

Want two emojis fused into one sticker instead of set side by side? Emoji Kitchen does that with 🪜, and there are more ready-made pairs in emoji combinations and aesthetic emoji combos.

07 — In conversation

What 🪜 means from a girl or a guy

Who sent the ladder and what came before it change the reading more than the emoji itself does.

From a girl
When a girl sends you the 🪜 emoji, she’s often expressing that she's feeling ambitious or that she’s moving forward in her life. It can also be a playful way of saying she's “climbing the ladder” of success or just feeling empowered.
From a guy
A guy using the 🪜 emoji is usually indicating he’s working towards something, taking steps to achieve a goal, or just generally feeling like he’s “rising to the occasion.” It’s a pretty straightforward way of showing he's putting in effort.
How to reply
If someone sends you the 🪜 emoji, you could reply with: “Let’s do it! 🪜”, “You got this! 🪜”, “I’m with you! 🪜”, “Big steps forward! 🪜”.
Used in a sentence
08 — Apps

What 🪜 means on TikTok, WhatsApp and Discord

Chat apps do not change U+1FA9C, they change what it looks like and what people take it to mean.

TikTok & Instagram
Generally, the 🪜 emoji means “climbing,” “progress,” or “steps. ” It’s used to indicate moving upwards, either literally or figuratively, in a conversation. In comments and captions it is read the same way — the tone comes from what it sits next to.
WhatsApp
WhatsApp draws 🪜 with Apple-style artwork on every phone, so it looks identical for both sides. A message with only 🪜 in it is shown enlarged.
Discord & Slack
Both accept the shortcode :ladder:. Discord renders Twemoji, so 🪜 looks different there than on your phone.
Outlook & email
Outlook has no emoji picker on desktop — press Win + . or Control + Command + Space inside the message body, or paste 🪜 from the copy button above.
09 — Related

Emojis similar to the Ladder emoji

Same family (tool) — often confused with ladder or used alongside it.

Objects →
💣Bomb 🪓Axe 🗡Dagger ⚔️Crossed Swords 🛡Shield 🔗Link Shovel emojiShovel 🩸Drop Of Blood 🪭Folding Hand Fan 👓Glasses 🕶Sunglasses 🥽Goggles

Collections 🪜 belongs to — every one of them is a different way people go looking for it:

object emojis
10 — History

Where the 🪜 Ladder emoji came from

It arrived with the 13.0 release of the standard, which dates the ladder to 2020.

AppleiOS
Ladder emoji, Apple, iOS 16.4
iOS 16.4
Ladder emoji, Apple, iOS 17.4
iOS 17.4
Ladder emoji, Apple, iOS 18.4
iOS 18.4
Ladder emoji, Apple, iOS 26
iOS 26
Twitter / XTwemoji
Ladder emoji, Twitter / X, Twemoji 14
Twemoji 14
Ladder emoji, Twitter / X, Twemoji 15
Twemoji 15
Ladder emoji, Twitter / X, Twemoji 16
Twemoji 16
Ladder emoji, Twitter / X, Twemoji 17
Twemoji 17

Same character every time — U+1FA9C never changed. Only the drawing did, and only because each vendor redraws its own set. Someone on an older phone still sees the older picture.

2020
Added to the standard

Ladder was approved as U+1FA9C and shipped in Emoji 13.0 (2020). Phones usually get new artwork about a year after approval, in a system update.

Today
Drawn 9 different ways

Every vendor keeps its own artwork, so 🪜 is redrawn by Apple, Google, Twitter / X, Facebook, OpenMoji, Samsung, Microsoft, WhatsApp, JoyPixels. The character you send never changes — only the picture does.

11 — FAQ

Ladder emoji — questions people actually ask

What does the 🪜 Ladder emoji mean?
Generally, the 🪜 emoji means “climbing,” “progress,” or “steps.” It’s used to indicate moving upwards, either literally or figuratively, in a conversation.
What does 🪜 mean from a girl?
When a girl sends you the 🪜 emoji, she’s often expressing that she's feeling ambitious or that she’s moving forward in her life. It can also be a playful way of saying she's “climbing the ladder” of success or just feeling empowered.
What does 🪜 mean from a guy?
A guy using the 🪜 emoji is usually indicating he’s working towards something, taking steps to achieve a goal, or just generally feeling like he’s “rising to the occasion.” It’s a pretty straightforward way of showing he's putting in effort.
How do you reply to the 🪜 emoji?
If someone sends you the 🪜 emoji, you could reply with: “Let’s do it! 🪜”, “You got this! 🪜”, “I’m with you! 🪜”, “Big steps forward! 🪜”.
What else is the 🪜 emoji called?
Ladder is the official Unicode name, but people search for it as “climb emoji”, “rung emoji”, “step emoji” and more. They all refer to the same character, U+1FA9C.
What is the Unicode code for 🪜?
The Ladder emoji is U+1FA9C, added in Emoji 13.0 (2020). In HTML you can write it as 🪜, and in CSS as \1FA9C.
How do I copy and paste the 🪜 emoji?
Tap the copy button at the top of this page — 🪜 goes straight to your clipboard and pastes into Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, Discord or any text field. You can also copy its shortcode :ladder: for Slack and Discord.
Does 🪜 look the same on every phone?
No. Ladder is drawn separately by each vendor — Apple, Google, Twitter/X, Facebook and OpenMoji all ship their own artwork for U+1FA9C. The character you send is identical; only the picture changes.