ladder vs sequence

ladder

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

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

noun
  • 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). 

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

  • 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. 

sequence

verb
  • to arrange in an order 

  • to determine the order of things, especially of amino acids in a protein, or of bases in a nucleic acid 

  • to produce (music) with a sequencer 

noun
  • An ordered list of objects, typically indexed with natural numbers. 

  • A series of shots that depict a single action or style in a film, television show etc. 

  • A series of musical phrases where a theme or melody is repeated, with some change each time, such as in pitch or length (example: opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony). 

  • The state of being sequent or following; order of succession. 

  • A musical composition used in some Catholic Masses between the readings. The most famous sequence is the Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) formerly used in funeral services. 

  • A set of things next to each other in a set order; a series 

  • A meld consisting of three or more cards of successive ranks in the same suit, such as the four, five and six of hearts. 

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