rank and file
- the members of a group or organization apart from its leaders or officers.
- rank1(def 7a).
Origin of rank and file
Examples from the Web for rank and file
Contemporary Examples
Asked what kind of support he got from rank-and-file Democrats, he paused before replying with a hearty laugh.
Rank-and-file conservatives by and large do not share these extreme anti-equality, anti-abortion, anti-women attitudes.
Some rank-and-file evangelicals may have switched their position or even advocated for reform.
In recent Republican congressional primaries, the rank-and-file has voted “no” to reflexive interventionism.
Like all rank-and-file soldiers, though, he was under close watch.
Historical Examples
The leaders were armed with rifles, but the rank-and-file carried only bowie-knives.
The Philippine IslandsJohn Foreman
For the leaders, it may last a little longer than for the rank-and-file.
The New SocietyWalther Rathenau
Below this group were the rank-and-file Party members, whose leadership role was constitutionally guaranteed.
Area Handbook for AlbaniaEugene K. Keefe
They were followed by the great bulk of the rank-and-file of so-called Jewish Socialists.
Peel among his magnificent qualities had not the art of conciliating the rank-and-file of his supporters.
The Earl of BeaconsfieldJames Anthony Froude
rank and file
- the ordinary soldiers of an army, excluding the officers
- the great mass or majority of any group or organization, as opposed to the leadership
- (modifier) of, relating to, or characteristic of the rank and filerank-and-file opinion; rank-and-file support
Word Origin and History for rank and file
n.
1590s, in reference to the horizontal and vertical lines of soldiers marching in formation; thence generalized to "common soldiers" (1796) and "common people" (1860).
rank and file
The people who form the major portion of any group or organization, excluding the leaders: “The rumors of corruption at the top disturbed the party's rank and file.” This phrase comes from military usage, where enlisted men march in ranks (close abreast) and files (one behind another), whereas officers march outside these formations.
Idioms and Phrases with rank and file
rank and file
Followers, the general membership, as in This new senator really appeals to the rank and file in the labor unions. This expression comes from the military, where a rank denotes soldiers standing side by side in a row, and file refers to soldiers standing behind one another. The first recorded figurative use of this term was in 1860.