[es.ca.la.tor] n [fr. Escalator, a trademark] (1900) 1 a: a power-driven set of stairs arranged like an endless belt that ascend or descend continuously b: an upward course suggestive of an escalator "a never-stopping ~ of economic progress --D. W. Brogan"
2: an escalator clause or provision
[2]escalator adj (1930): providing for a periodic proportional upward or downward adjustment (as of prices or wages) "an ~ arrangement tying the base pay ... to living costs --N. Y. Times"