phalanx

American  

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

noun

phalanxes, plural phalanges plural

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′ /

phalanges plural

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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• phalanges
  plural
• phalanxes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of phalanx

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

Explanation

A phalanx is a tightly knit group of people or things, like an army troop or a bunch of fans of the same band. Phalanx refers to any tightly formed group of soldiers or officers, and historically defines a body of Macedonian infantry whose shields overlapped. From that sense, it came to mean any close-knit group. Another definition of phalanx — any bone in a finger or toe — also came out of the military sense: these bones work together closely, just like a military phalanx. The plural for these bones is phalanges, while the plural for the other senses is phalanxes.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

phalanx phalanges phalanxes

Michael Sheen is set to star in a Welsh comedy film about a UFO sighting - after sharing his own encounter with "a phalanx of lights" in his hometown.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

Instead of the usual phalanx of cars and buses, Saturday evening traffic on Wilshire Boulevard was replaced by massive balloons, mobile sculptures, gaggles of gallerists and an endless array of elaborate costumes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026

A phalanx of guards with full armor and riot shields watched over proceedings.

From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026

And they lined up in a phalanx and marched out together on their last day.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026

A phalanx breaks off from the others and rushes up the stairs.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

She uses it to tap fatefully on trees and listen for the tiny movements of tasty grubs within, which she then extracts using those same Nosferatu phalanges.

From Salon ● May 11, 2025

On Sunday, Barker shared graphic photos of his blood-stained pants and sanguinary phalanges, which took a beating after Blink-182’s set in Manchester, England.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2023

I'd start with a small, manageable story: one hand has twenty-seven bones, split into three types—the carpals, the metacarpals, and the slippery phalanges.

From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2022

The phalanges fall into line like a picket fence with boards of varying lengths, the knuckles unknobby.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 2, 2021

Had we descended from a fish with four or six phalanges, we would have four or six fingers on each hand and would think them perfectly natural.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

In the past, insurers have deployed phalanxes of angry seniors and run large-scale ad campaigns, including a commercial during the Super Bowl.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026

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 ● Nov. 29, 2025

Federal security was finally forthcoming for Gaytán — at her funeral, which featured phalanxes of troops guarding Celaya’s cathedral.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2024

Adult performers are vastly outnumbered by a strong company of singing and dancing children, who in the school scenes form phalanxes and mazes, physically cornering Trevor into being isolated and judged.

From New York Times ● Jun. 23, 2022

Amusis and the other leaders of the Rebu strove to get their men into solid order, for so alone could they hope to break the phalanxes of the Egyptians; but the confusion was too great.

From The Cat of Bubastes A Tale of Ancient Egypt by Weguelin, J. R. (John Reinhard)

Related Words

• army
• flock
• horde
• multitude
• throng