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• ranger
  ranger

  noun

  forest ranger.
• Ranger
  Ranger

  noun

  a member of the senior branch of the Guides

ranger

American  

[rayn-jer] / ˈreɪn dʒər /

noun

• rangers
  plural

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• rangers
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of ranger

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

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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

See Examples For:

ranger Ranger rangers

With break-in season officially over, the ranger station at Mineral King posted a sign advising visitors they no longer needed to tarp and asking them not to borrow any more from their stash.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Park ranger, Emilia Fahlstromova, said that wood is the best material possible to restore the wetland habitats.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

In April, the Superior Court dismissed the three citations Hubbard received in May 2025 when no park ranger or city attorney appeared for the prosecution, his lawsuit states.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

Richard Kinsey, senior biodiversity ranger at the Department of Conservation, was part of the dive team that encountered the coral.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 25, 2026

The park ranger kept hissing and flapping until we’d all gathered around the big stump he was standing on.

From "Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat" by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth

Its sales consistently dwarf those of competitors like the Ford Ranger and Chevrolet Colorado.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

He purchased the truck after an accident totaled his older Ranger, which he also adored.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

It was “traumatizing, seeing that stuff on display for so long and then seeing it come down,” said James Ranger, a veteran hotel tour guide and Mission Inn Foundation docent.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

Ranger Pete Entwistle is one of nine carrrying out the work.

From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026

So this is who all will be in our village: the Price family, Lone Ranger, Cinderella, Briar Rose, and the Tribes of Ham.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

They represent park rangers, scientists and other professionals who keep visitors safe, maintain trails and facilities, monitor wildlife and help communities prepare for disasters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

If the field trial is successful, Paskett hopes landowners and forest rangers will be able to sign up to the scheme.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

The critically endangered animals were found Tuesday by rangers patrolling in the Balasore district of India's eastern Odisha state.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

Forest Service’s climbing rangers, who provided them with medical aid.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

“How many rangers has the Weeper killed?” asked Othell Yarwyck.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

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