rally around

Idioms

Join in a common effort, as in When Mom broke her leg the entire family rallied around to help. This idiom gained currency with George F. Root's famous Civil War song, “The Battle Cry of Freedom,” which urges troops to rally round the flag that goes with them into battle. [Early 1800s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

rally around

May 1 is a public holiday in many countries to mark International Workers’ Day, or Labor Day, when workers’ unions traditionally rally around wages, pensions, inequality and broader political issues.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

But to rally around Prejean Boller would be a mistake.

From Slate ● Mar. 13, 2026

They may want to rally around new leaders who will actually fight for families and freedom.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026

George, whose mother during England's 2024 Six Nations campaign, had promised England's squad will rally around Itoje on his return to the set-up.

From BBC ● Feb. 2, 2026

The whole bloody north would rally around them.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023