phalanx

American  

[fey-langks, fal-angks] / ˈfeɪ læŋks, ˈfæl æŋks /

noun

plural

phalanxes, phalanges

1. (in ancient Greece) a group of heavily armed infantry formed in ranks and files close and deep, with shields joined and long spears overlapping.

2. any body of troops in close array.

3. a number of individuals, especially persons united for a common purpose.

4. a compact or closely massed body of persons, animals, or things.

5. Military. Phalanx, a radar-controlled U.S. Navy 20 mm Gatling-type gun deployed on ships as a last line of defense against antiship cruise missiles.

6. (in Fourierism) a group of about 1800 persons, living together and holding their property in common.

7. Anatomy, Zoology. any of the bones of the fingers or toes.

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verb (used without object)

1. Printing. to arrange the distribution of work in a shop as evenly as possible.

phalanx British  

/ ˈfælæŋks /

noun

1. an ancient Greek and Macedonian battle formation of hoplites presenting long spears from behind a wall of overlapping shields

2. any closely ranked unit or mass of people

   the police formed a phalanx to protect the embassy

3. a number of people united for a common purpose

4. (in Fourierism) a group of approximately 1800 persons forming a commune in which all property is collectively owned

5. anatomy any of the bones of the fingers or toes

6. botany

   1. a bundle of stamens, joined together by their stalks (filaments)

   2. a form of vegetative spread in which the advance is on a broad front, as in the common reed Compare guerrilla

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phalanx Scientific  

/ fā′lăngks′ /

plural

phalanges

1. Any of the small bones of the fingers or toes in humans or the digits of many other vertebrates.

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Etymology

Origin of phalanx

First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin, from Greek phálanx “military formation, bone of finger or toe, wooden roller”

Example Sentences

Then, down the broad marble staircase of Odessa marches a phalanx of Cossack soldiers.

From The Wall Street Journal

Afterwards, Gandhi presided over waves of civil disobedience protests, encouraging supporters of the Indian National Congress to manufacture contraband salt, boycott foreign goods, and face down phalanxes of lathi-wielding policemen.

From BBC

Stepping up to the LPGA, complete with a deep gallery of onlookers and a phalanx of Secret Service agents surrounding her, could have been daunting.

From Los Angeles Times

The company equipped him with state-of-the-art shoes and a phalanx of pace-setting runners tagging in and out to escort him on his way.

From The Wall Street Journal

About 9 a.m., she said, phalanxes of masked agents in tactical vests sealed off the sprawling compound.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• army
• flock
• horde
• multitude
• throng