rally

¹ American  

[ral-ee] / ˈræl i /

verb (used with object)

rallied, rallying

1. to bring into order again; gather and organize or inspire anew.

   The general rallied his scattered army.

   Synonyms:

   muster

2. to draw or call (persons) together for a common action or effort.

   He rallied his friends to help him.

   Synonyms:

   unite, join, group, assemble

3. to concentrate or revive, as one's strength, spirits, etc..

   They rallied their energies for the counterattack.

   Synonyms:

   reanimate

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verb (used without object)

rallied, rallying

1. to come together for common action or effort.

   The disunited party rallied in time for the election campaign.

   Synonyms:

   cooperate, collaborate, ally

2. to come together or into order again.

   The captain ordered his small force to rally at the next stream.

   Synonyms:

   revive, recuperate, recover, rebound, improve, reorganize, re-form, regroup

3. to come to the assistance of a person, party, or cause (often followed by to oraround ).

   to rally around a political candidate.

4. to recover partially from illness.

   He spent a bad night but began to rally by morning.

5. to find renewed strength or vigor.

   The runner seemed to be rallying for a final sprint.

6. Finance.

   1. (of securities) to rise sharply in price after a drop.

   2. (of the persons forming a stock market) to begin to trade with increased activity after a slow period.

7. (in tennis, badminton, etc.) to engage in a rally.

8. to participate in a long-distance automobile race.

9. Baseball. (of a team) to score one or more runs in one inning.

noun

• rallies
  plural

1. a recovery from dispersion or disorder, as of troops.

2. a renewal or recovery of strength, activity, etc.

3. a partial recovery of strength during illness.

4. a drawing or coming together of persons, as for common action, as in a mass meeting.

   A political rally that brought together hundreds of the faithful.

5. a get-together of hobbyists or other like-minded enthusiasts, primarily to meet and socialize.

6. Finance. a sharp rise in price or active trading after a declining market.

7. (in tennis, badminton, etc.)

   1. an exchange of strokes between players before a point is scored.

   2. the hitting of the ball back and forth prior to the start of a match.

8. Boxing. an exchange of blows.

9. Baseball. the scoring of one or more runs in one inning.

10. British Theater. a quickening of pace for heightening the dramatic effect in a scene or act.

11. Shipbuilding. a series of blows with battering rams, made in order to drive wedges under a hull to raise it prior to launching.

12. Also rallye a long-distance automobile race, especially for sports cars, held over public roads unfamiliar to the drivers, with numerous checkpoints along the route.

rally ² American  

[ral-ee] / ˈræl i /

verb (used with object)

rallied, rallying

1. Rare. to ridicule in a good-natured way; banter.

   Synonyms:

   twit, tease, chaff

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rally ¹ British  

/ ˈrælɪ /

verb

1. to bring (a group, unit, etc) into order, as after dispersal, or (of such a group) to reform and come to order

   the troops rallied for a final assault

2. to organize (supporters, etc) for a common cause or (of such people) to come together for a purpose

3. to summon up (one's strength, spirits, etc) or (of a person's health, strength, or spirits) to revive or recover

4. (intr) stock exchange to increase sharply after a decline

   steels rallied after a bad day

5. (intr) tennis squash badminton to engage in a rally

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noun

1. a large gathering of people for a common purpose, esp for some political cause

   the Nuremberg Rallies

2. a marked recovery of strength or spirits, as during illness

3. a return to order after dispersal or rout, as of troops, etc

4. stock exchange a sharp increase in price or trading activity after a decline

5. tennis squash badminton an exchange of several shots before one player wins the point

6. a type of motoring competition over public and closed roads

rally ² British  

/ ˈrælɪ /

verb

1. to mock or ridicule (someone) in a good-natured way; chaff; tease

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rallier
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• rallies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of rally¹

First recorded in 1585–95; from French verb rallier, Old French, equivalent to r(e)- re- + allier “to join”; see ally

Origin of rally²

First recorded in 1660–70; from French railler “to rail ² ”

Explanation

Use the verb rally to describe that last push to finish a difficult something. When you hit that last mile in the race and are so tired you want to quit, that's when you rally, finding the strength to pick up the pace. The verb rally is often used to describe a physical effort that has been renewed, but it can describe anything that involves bouncing back from a setback. For example, if something makes you feel disappointed, you rally to get your positive attitude back. Rally can also describe bringing people together, often to support a cause. The event itself is also called a rally, like pep rally in which students boost the confidence of their team as it heads into the championship game.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rally rallies rallied rallying

The rally likely prompted traders who were short bitcoin — or positioning to profit from falling prices of the cryptocurrency — to exit those trades, he said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026

However, a roughing the kicker call on a Centennial punt ended Servite’s hopes of a rally.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

RBC Capital Markets analyst Trung Huynh downgrades shares of the Keytruda maker following a nearly 13% rally.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

“Gold’s ability to rally despite historically elevated long-end yields suggests investors are looking beyond the traditional opportunity-cost relationship and focusing instead on the sustainability of government borrowing,” Hansen said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

“My son wasn’t exaggerating. I have connections. People I used to rally with. Many who helped us after things went bad.”

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

But a rival party, the hard-right anti-immigration Reform UK, rallies support on social media thanks to leader Nigel Farage with 1.5 million followers on TikTok, 2.3 million on Facebook and X.

From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026

Competing rallies from critics and supporters were organised at Indiana's games, along with small-scale protests.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

But for Sosnick, “the bigger story is the intraday rallies that occurred in these stocks after significant initial shakeouts.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026

The competing factions faced off at rallies on Archer Avenue for months.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

“Pep rallies, sports—the basketball team is all-city. Wasn’t there some kind of huge accident at their last game?”

From "Ungifted" by Gordon Korman

The cryptocurrency hadn’t traded above the $70,000 level since early June, but rallied after an upbeat White House crypto summit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Either you rallied behind Chud or you rooted for his demise; either way, he got paid.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

Dispersion within the U.S. stock market had been notably elevated at the time, as shares of semiconductor stocks rallied while software and megacap technology shares cratered.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

“The community rallied to its own defense, which brings me joy,” Smiley said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

Strutter had rallied her friends from every corner of the city.

From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown

Then the real St. John Bosco team came out of the locker room after halftime and almost pulled off a Hollywood ending, rallying to tie the score before losing 38-28.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

Now, in the wake of the Treasury Department announcing that it would at least double buybacks for long-term bonds, the market was moving against him by rallying.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

I’m all for rallying around a book or author and debating their merits like it’s a sporting match.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

However, while stocks were rallying, investors were getting more wary about inflationary pressures, which were forcing bond yields higher.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

"Let's go, y'all," I said, scurrying and rallying Cotton and Maddy, taking my bag back from her.

From "Patina" by Jason Reynolds