rank and file

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noun

the members of a group or organization apart from its leaders or officers.

rank¹(def 7a).

Origin of rank and file

First recorded in 1590–1600

Related formsrank-and-file, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for rank and file

majority, proletariat, forces

Examples from the Web for rank and file

Contemporary Examples of rank and file

Asked what kind of support he got from rank-and-file Democrats, he paused before replying with a hearty laugh.
Repubs Should Take It From Kucinich: Impeachment Isn’t Worth It
Eleanor Clift
December 5, 2014
Rank-and-file conservatives by and large do not share these extreme anti-equality, anti-abortion, anti-women attitudes.
Is This the Return of Back Alley Abortions?
Sally Kohn
October 7, 2014
Some rank-and-file evangelicals may have switched their position or even advocated for reform.
Even Conservative Evangelical Support Couldn’t Save Immigration Reform
Jacob Lupfer
July 6, 2014
In recent Republican congressional primaries, the rank-and-file has voted “no” to reflexive interventionism.
Obama Is the New Dubya
Lloyd Green
June 17, 2014
Like all rank-and-file soldiers, though, he was under close watch.
Fearful of a U.S. Strike, Defectors Flee the Syrian Army
Mike Giglio
September 5, 2013

Historical Examples of rank and file

The leaders were armed with rifles, but the rank-and-file carried only bowie-knives.
The Philippine Islands
John Foreman
For the leaders, it may last a little longer than for the rank-and-file.
The New Society
Walther Rathenau
Below this group were the rank-and-file Party members, whose leadership role was constitutionally guaranteed.
Area Handbook for Albania
Eugene K. Keefe
They were followed by the great bulk of the rank-and-file of so-called Jewish Socialists.
The myth of the Jewish menace in world affairs
Lucien Wolf
Peel among his magnificent qualities had not the art of conciliating the rank-and-file of his supporters.
The Earl of Beaconsfield
James Anthony Froude

British Dictionary definitions for rank and file

rank and file

noun

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

Derived Formsrank and filer, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for rank and file

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 in Culture

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.