climber

noun

climb·​er ˈklī-mər 

plural climbers

1

a

: a person or animal that climbs

a tree climber

a bicyclist who's an excellent climber

a mountain climber

We also teach how to handle a rope and how to belay another climber to protect them if they fall.

—Lou Whittaker

see also rock climber

b

: a climbing plant

ivy and other climbers

Owing to their size and abundance, climbing plants, especially the large woody climbers or lianes, are one of the most impressive features of the Tropical Rain forest.

—P. W. Richards

2

: social climber

Examples of climber in a Sentence

Chimpanzees are excellent climbers and spend a lot of their lives in trees.

climbers like clematis and ivy

Recent Examples on the Web

It has only been accomplished by a few mountaineers since it was first done by American climber Thomas Hornbein. —Leah Sarnoff, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2025

Videos and images circulating on social media show BASE jumpers leaping from El Capitan, unauthorized campers occupying closed campgrounds, and climbers scaling Half Dome’s cables without permits — all in violation of park regulations. —Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2025

Videos posted to Instagram by a local climber, Charles Winstead show what appears to be several BASE jumpers parachuting down from Yosemite’s famous granite monolith, El Capitan. —Owen Clarke, Outside, 13 Oct. 2025

The 84-year-old climber, considered somewhat of a legend in the Midwest climbing community, lived a mile from the state park for around 50 years, and went climbing nearly every Saturday and Sunday when the weather cooperated, his son Dan Cleveland said. —Kelli Arseneau, jsonline.com, 10 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing climber

• social climber
• stair climber

Rhymes for climber

• dimer
• eimer
• primer
• rhymer
• timer
• alzheimer
• heterodimer