/ rʌŋ; NAmE / noun
one of the bars that forms a step in a ladder :
He put his foot on the bottom rung to keep the ladder steady.
( figurative )
to get a foot on the bottom rung of the career ladder
She was a few rungs above him on the social ladder.
—picture at ladder
—see also ring verb
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English hrung (originally referring to a part of a chair); related to Dutch rong and German Runge .