rank

[ rangk ]

/ ræŋk /

noun

a number of persons forming a separate class in a social hierarchy or in any graded body.

a social or official position or standing, as in the armed forces: the rank of captain.

high position or station in the social or some similar scale: a woman of rank.

a class in any scale of comparison.

relative position or standing: a writer of the first rank.

a row, line, or series of things or persons: orchestra players arranged in ranks.

ranks,

the members of an armed service apart from its officers; enlisted personnel.
military enlisted personnel as a group.

Usually ranks. the general body of any party, society, or organization apart from the officers or leaders.

orderly arrangement; array.

a line of persons, especially soldiers, standing abreast in close-order formation (distinguished from file).

British. a place or station occupied by vehicles available for hire; stand: a taxi rank.

Chess. one of the horizontal lines of squares on a chessboard.

a set of organ pipes of the same kind and tonal color.

Also called determinant rank. Mathematics. the order of the nonzero determinant of greatest order that can be selected from a given matrix by the elimination of rows and columns.

Mining. the classification of coal according to hardness, from lignite to anthracite.

verb (used with object)

to arrange in ranks or in regular formation: The men were ranked according to height. He ranked the chess pieces on the board.

to assign to a particular position, station, class, etc.: She was ranked among the most admired citizens.

to outrank: The colonel ranks all other officers in the squadron.

Slang. to insult; criticize.

verb (used without object)

to form a rank or ranks.

to take up or occupy a place in a particular rank, class, etc.: to rank well ahead of the other students.

to have rank or standing.

to be the senior in rank: The colonel ranks at this camp.

Slang. to complain.

Nearby words

ranikhet disease, ranine, ranine artery, ranitidine, ranjit singh, rank, rank and file, rank scale, rank, otto, rank-and-filer, ranke

Idioms

break ranks,

to leave an assigned position in a military formation.
to disagree with, defect from, or refuse to support one's colleagues, party, or the like.

pull rank (on), to make use of one's superior rank to gain an advantage over (someone).Also pull one's rank (on).

Origin of rank

1560–70; < French ranc (noun, obsolete), Old French renc, ranc, rang row, line < Germanic, akin to ring¹

SYNONYMS FOR rank

3 distinction, eminence, dignity.

6 range, tier.

9 alignment.

16 align, range, array.

Related formsrank·less, adjectiveun·ranked, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for break ranks (1 of 3)

Rank

noun

(ræŋk) J (oseph) Arthur, 1st Baron. 1888–1972, British industrialist and film executive, whose companies dominated the British film industry in the 1940s and 1950s

(German raŋk) Otto (ˈɔto). 1884–1939, Austrian psychoanalyst, noted for his theory that the trauma of birth may be reflected in certain forms of mental illness

British Dictionary definitions for break ranks (2 of 3)

rank

/ (ræŋk) /

noun

a position, esp an official one, within a social organization, esp the armed forcesthe rank of captain

high social or other standing; status

a line or row of people or things

the position of an item in any ordering or sequence

British a place where taxis wait to be hired

a line of soldiers drawn up abreast of each otherCompare file 1 (def. 5)

any of the eight horizontal rows of squares on a chessboard

(in systemic grammar) one of the units of description of which a grammar is composed. Ranks of English grammar are sentence, clause, group, word, and morpheme

music a set of organ pipes controlled by the same stop

maths (of a matrix) the largest number of linearly independent rows or columns; the number of rows (or columns) of the nonzero determinant of greatest order that can be extracted from the matrix

break ranks military to fall out of line, esp when under attack

close ranks to maintain discipline or solidarity, esp in anticipation of attack

pull rank to get one's own way by virtue of one's superior position or rank

verb

(tr) to arrange (people or things) in rows or lines; range

to accord or be accorded a specific position in an organization, society, or group

(tr) to array (a set of objects) as a sequence, esp in terms of the natural arithmetic ordering of some measure of the elementsto rank students by their test scores

(intr) to be important; ratemoney ranks low in her order of priorities

mainly US to take precedence or surpass in rankthe colonel ranks at this camp

Word Origin for rank

C16: from Old French ranc row, rank, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German hring circle

British Dictionary definitions for break ranks (3 of 3)

rank

/ (ræŋk) /

adjective

showing vigorous and profuse growthrank weeds

highly offensive or disagreeable, esp in smell or taste

(prenominal) complete or absolute; uttera rank outsider

coarse or vulgar; grosshis language was rank

Derived Formsrankly, adverbrankness, noun

Word Origin for rank

Old English ranc straight, noble; related to Old Norse rakkr upright, Dutch, Swedish rank tall and thin, weak

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for break ranks (1 of 3)

rank

early 14c., "row, line series;" c.1400, a row of an army, from Old French renc, ranc "row, line" (Modern French rang), from Frankish *hring or some other Germanic source (cf. Old High German hring "circle, ring"), from Proto-Germanic *khrengaz "circle, ring" (see ring (n.1)).

Meaning "a social division, class of persons" is from early 15c. Meaning "high station in society" is from early 15c. Meaning "a relative position" is from c.1600.

Word Origin and History for break ranks (1 of 3)

rank

adj.

Old English ranc "proud, overbearing, showy," from Proto-Germanic *rankaz (cf. Danish rank "right, upright," German rank "slender," Old Norse rakkr "straight, erect"), perhaps from PIE *reg- "to stretch, straighten" (see right (adj.)). In reference to plant growth, "vigorous, luxuriant, abundant, copious" it is recorded from c.1300. Related: Rankly; rankness.

Sense evolved in Middle English to "large and coarse" (c.1300), then, via notion of "excessive and unpleasant," to "corrupt, loathsome, foul" (mid-14c.), perhaps from influence of Middle French rance "rancid." In 17c. also "lewd, lustful."

Much used 16c. as a pejorative intensive (cf. rank folly). This is possibly the source of the verb meaning "to reveal another's guilt" (1929, underworld slang), and that of "to harass, abuse," 1934, U.S. black dialect, though this also may be from the role of the activity in establishing social hierarchy (from rank (n.)).

Word Origin and History for break ranks (2 of 3)

rank

1570s, "arrange in lines;" 1590s, "put in order, classify; assign a rank to," from rank (n.). Related: Ranked; ranking.

Idioms and Phrases with break ranks (1 of 2)

break ranks

Fall out of line or into disorder; also, fail to conform, deviate. For example, The recruits were warned that they must not break ranks, or Harry was told to adhere to the party platform and not break ranks. This idiom uses rank in the sense of “soldiers drawn up in line,” and the term originally referred to their falling into disarray. The figurative usage dates from the mid-1800s.

Idioms and Phrases with break ranks (2 of 2)

rank

In addition to the idiom beginning with rank

rank and file

also see:

break ranks
close ranks
pull rank
rise through the ranks

rank

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verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

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Idioms

Origin of rank

British Dictionary definitions for.css-ylq2vz{color:#1a1a1a;} break ranks (1 of 3)

Rank

noun

British Dictionary definitions for break ranks (2 of 3)

rank

noun

verb

Word Origin for rank

British Dictionary definitions for break ranks (3 of 3)

rank

adjective

Word Origin for rank

Word Origin and History for break ranks (1 of 3)

rank

Word Origin and History for break ranks (1 of 3)

rank

Word Origin and History for break ranks (2 of 3)

rank

Idioms and Phrases with break ranks (1 of 2)

break ranks

Idioms and Phrases with break ranks (2 of 2)

rank

noun

British Dictionary definitions for break ranks (1 of 3)