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• ranger
  ranger

  noun

  forest ranger.
• Ranger
  Ranger

  noun

  a member of the senior branch of the Guides

ranger

American  

[reyn-jer] / ˈreɪn dʒər /

noun

1. forest ranger.

2. one of a body of armed guards who patrol a region.

3. (initial capital letter) a U.S. soldier in World War II specially trained for making surprise raids and attacks in small groups.

4. a soldier specially trained in the techniques of guerrilla warfare, especially in jungle terrain.

5. a person who ranges or roves.

6. (especially in Texas) a member of the state police.

7. British. a keeper of a royal forest or park.

8. Building Trades. wale.

9. (initial capital letter) one of a series of instrumented U.S. space probes launched in the 1960s that transmitted closeup pictures of the moon before impacting the lunar surface.

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ranger ¹ British  

/ ˈreɪndʒə /

noun

1. (sometimes capital) an official in charge of a forest, park, estate, nature reserve, etc

2. Brit equivalent: warden.  a person employed to patrol a State or national park or forest

3. one of a body of armed troops employed to police a State or district

   a Texas Ranger

4. (in the US and certain other armies) a commando specially trained in making raids

5. a person who wanders about large areas of country; a rover

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Ranger ² British  

/ ˈreɪndʒə /

noun

1. a member of the senior branch of the Guides

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Ranger ³ British  

/ ˈreɪndʒə /

noun

1. any of a series of nine American lunar probes launched between 1961 and 1965, three of which transmitted to earth photographs of the moon

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underranger
  noun

Etymology

Origin of ranger

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at range, -er ¹

Explanation

A ranger is a person who takes care of a park or a piece of land. A park ranger makes sure the rules are followed and provides information to visitors. Someone who takes a job as a forest ranger might patrol an area of wooded land, watching for fire danger and enforcing the rules. A ranger's tasks can vary from teaching kids about local plants and animals to fighting fires to arresting people who break laws in a state or national park. The original rangers were British employees of the king or queen who would "range" throughout the woods looking for poachers — people who illegally hunted on royal land.

Example Sentences

Gareth Jones, lead ranger at Clumber Park, said the funding would allow the project to move "from discovery to recovery".

From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026

Northumberland National Park's head ranger has spotted dog mess next to the footpath just a few metres from a sign asking people to bag and dispose of it responsibly.

From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026

In 1983, he slipped into the role of a taciturn Texas ranger waging war against an arms dealer in "Lone Wolf McQuade", which provided the template for the cult TV series "Walker, Texas Ranger".

From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026

Analysts had expected the drop—the target had been around 5%even though Beijing had encouraged officials at its annual political gathering to set a ranger closer to 5%.

From Barron's • Mar. 5, 2026

Brugman came back to Mount St. Helens bearing the ruby laser ranger.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone