ladder vs progression

ladder

noun
  • A series of stages by which one progresses to a better position. 

  • A length of unravelled fabric in a knitted garment, especially in nylon stockings; a run. 

  • A frame, usually portable, of wood, metal, or rope, used for ascent and descent, consisting of two side pieces to which are fastened rungs (cross strips or rounds acting as steps). 

  • In the game of go, a sequence of moves following a zigzag pattern and ultimately leading to the capture of the attacked stones. 

  • The hierarchy or ranking system within an organization, such as the corporate ladder. 

verb
  • Of a knitted garment: to develop a ladder as a result of a broken thread. 

  • To ascend (a building, a wall, etc.) using a ladder. 

  • To arrange or form into a shape of a ladder. 

  • To close in on a target with successive salvos, increasing or decreasing the shot range as necessary. 

progression

noun
  • The act of moving forward or proceeding in a course; motion onward. 

  • A sequence obtained by adding or multiplying each term by a constant. 

  • chord progression 

  • The act of moving from one thing to another. 

  • Development, increase, evolution. 

  • The making an exercise more exerting by manipulating the details of its performance like loaded weight, range of motion, angle, speed. 

How often have the words ladder and progression occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )