Jump To:

• ranger
  ranger

  noun

  forest ranger.
• Ranger
  Ranger

  noun

  a member of the senior branch of the Guides

ranger

American  

[reyn-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.

---

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

---

Ranger ² British  

/ ˈreɪndʒə /

noun

1. a member of the senior branch of the Guides

---

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

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underranger
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• rangers
  plural

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

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

The situation imperils GM’s heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, as well as midsize trucks that compete for buyers with Toyota’s Tacoma and Ford’s Ranger.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026

Royal Mail denied management kept post from Labour's Andrew Ranger, the MP for Wrexham, when he dropped in over Christmas.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026

One was her boyfriend, Ortiz, who says he performed as the Lone Ranger, complete with mask and holstered six-shooters.

From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026

Dylan holds in a laugh, but Ranger Alford swallows, then asks, “Is that magic?”

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston