ranger

[reyn-jer]

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.

ranger

¹

/ 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

/ ˈreɪndʒə /

noun

1. a member of the senior branch of the Guides

Ranger

³

/ 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

• underranger noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ranger¹

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

Example Sentences

Seconds later, the rangers dropped onto the deck and captured the crew.

From BBC

Despite suffering life-threatening injuries, he regained consciousness and crawled to a road where wildlife rangers rescued him.

From BBC

Believing the death was a homicide, deputies and rangers from the Bureau of Land Management began interviewing festival attendees to try to piece together what happened.

From Los Angeles Times

More than 600 staffers — including interpretive park rangers, biologists, firefighters and fee collectors — are now represented by the National Federation of Federal Employees.

From Los Angeles Times

When the deputy, along with rangers from the Bureau of Land Management, found the man at a campsite, he was dead.

From Los Angeles Times