Jump To:

• rank
  rank

  noun

  a number of persons forming a separate class in a social hierarchy or in any graded body.
• Rank
  Rank

  noun

  Otto 1884–1939, Austrian psychoanalyst.

rank

¹ American  

[rangk] / ræŋk /

noun

• ranks
  plural

1. a number of persons forming a separate class in a social hierarchy or in any graded body.

2. a social or official position or standing, as in the armed forces.

   the rank of captain.

3. high position or station in the social or some similar scale.

   a woman of rank.

   Synonyms:

   dignity, eminence, distinction

4. a class in any scale of comparison.

5. relative position or standing.

   a writer of the first rank.

6. a row, line, or series of things or persons.

   orchestra players arranged in ranks.

   Synonyms:

   tier, range

7. ranks,

   1. the members of an armed service apart from its officers; enlisted personnel.

   2. military enlisted personnel as a group.

8. Usually ranks the general body of any party, society, or organization apart from the officers or leaders.

9. orderly arrangement; array.

   Synonyms:

   series, disposition

10. a line of persons, especially soldiers, standing abreast in close-order formation (distinguished from file).

11. British. a place or station occupied by vehicles available for hire; stand.

    a taxi rank.

12. Chess, Checkers. one of the horizontal lines of squares on a chessboard or checkerboard.

13. a set of organ pipes of the same kind and tonal color.

14. Also called determinant rank. Mathematics. the order of the nonzero determinant of greatest order that can be selected from a given matrix by the elimination of rows and columns.

15. Mining. the classification of coal according to hardness, from lignite to anthracite.

---

verb (used with object)

• ranks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ranked,
  past participle,  past
• ranking
  present participle

1. to arrange in ranks or in regular formation.

   The men were ranked according to height. He ranked the chess pieces on the board.

   Synonyms:

   array, range, align

2. to assign to a particular position, station, class, etc..

   She was ranked among the most admired citizens.

3. to outrank.

   The colonel ranks all other officers in the squadron.

4. Slang. to insult; criticize.

verb (used without object)

• ranks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ranked,
  past participle,  past
• ranking
  present participle

1. to form a rank or ranks.

2. to take up or occupy a place in a particular rank, class, etc..

   to rank well ahead of the other students.

3. to have rank or standing.

4. to be the senior in rank.

   The colonel ranks at this camp.

5. Slang. to complain.

idioms

1. pull rank (on), to make use of one's superior rank to gain an advantage over (someone). Also pull one's rank (on).

2. break ranks,

   1. to leave an assigned position in a military formation.

   2. to disagree with, defect from, or refuse to support one's colleagues, party, or the like.

rank ² American  

[rangk] / ræŋk /

adjective

ranker, rankest

1. growing with excessive luxuriance; vigorous and tall of growth.

   tall rank weeds.

   Synonyms:

   exuberant, abundant

2. producing an excessive and coarse growth, as land.

3. having an offensively strong smell or taste.

   a rank cigar.

4. offensively strong, as a smell or taste.

5. utter; absolute.

   a rank amateur; rank treachery.

   Synonyms:

   entire, sheer, complete

6. highly offensive; disgusting.

   a rank sight of carnage.

   Synonyms:

   repellent, repulsive

7. grossly coarse, vulgar, or indecent.

   rank language.

   Synonyms:

   foul

8. Slang. inferior; contemptible.

---

Rank ³ American  

[rahngk] / rɑŋk /

noun

1. Otto 1884–1939, Austrian psychoanalyst.

---

rank ¹ British  

/ ræŋk /

noun

1. a position, esp an official one, within a social organization, esp the armed forces

   the rank of captain

2. high social or other standing; status

3. a line or row of people or things

4. the position of an item in any ordering or sequence

5. a place where taxis wait to be hired

6. a line of soldiers drawn up abreast of each other Compare file 1

7. any of the eight horizontal rows of squares on a chessboard

8. (in systemic grammar) one of the units of description of which a grammar is composed. Ranks of English grammar are sentence, clause, group, word, and morpheme

9. music a set of organ pipes controlled by the same stop

10. maths (of a matrix) the largest number of linearly independent rows or columns; the number of rows (or columns) of the nonzero determinant of greatest order that can be extracted from the matrix

11. military to fall out of line, esp when under attack

12. to maintain discipline or solidarity, esp in anticipation of attack

13. to get one's own way by virtue of one's superior position or rank

---

verb

1. (tr) to arrange (people or things) in rows or lines; range

2. to accord or be accorded a specific position in an organization, society, or group

3. (tr) to array (a set of objects) as a sequence, esp in terms of the natural arithmetic ordering of some measure of the elements

   to rank students by their test scores

4. (intr) to be important; rate

   money ranks low in her order of priorities

5. to take precedence or surpass in rank

   the colonel ranks at this camp

rank ² British  

/ ræŋk /

adjective

1. showing vigorous and profuse growth

   rank weeds

2. highly offensive or disagreeable, esp in smell or taste

3. (prenominal) complete or absolute; utter

   a rank outsider

4. coarse or vulgar; gross

   his language was rank

---

Rank ³ British  

noun

1. J ( oseph ) Arthur , 1st Baron. 1888–1972, British industrialist and film executive, whose companies dominated the British film industry in the 1940s and 1950s

2. Otto (ˈɔto). 1884–1939, Austrian psychoanalyst, noted for his theory that the trauma of birth may be reflected in certain forms of mental illness

---

rank More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing rank

• break ranks
• close ranks
• pull rank
• rise through the ranks

---

Usage

What does rank mean? Rank most commonly refers to the position or status that has been assigned to someone or something to distinguish it from others in a group. In certain organizations, especially the military, rank refers to someone’s official position in a hierarchy—an organizational structure in which people have increasing levels of authority based on their rank. For example, in the military, the lowest rank may be private, and the highest rank may be general. The word can also be used to refer to less official positions or statuses (ones that have not been assigned but exist based on other factors), such as a person’s status within society. Rank can also be used collectively to refer to all of the people within a group with the same status. As a verb, rank most commonly means to assign something a status or position to distinguish it from others in a group, as in Please rank the top five candidates in order from best to worst. It can also mean to have a particular rank or position, as in She ranks above all the other executives. The verb rank is sometimes used in overlapping ways with the verb rate, but rate most commonly means to assign something a value or rating independently of other things, whereas rank typically means to determine the position of something compared to other things. Unrelatedly, rank can also be used as an adjective meaning offensively strong, especially in smell or taste, as in There’s a rank odor coming from the trash can. Rank is a very common word and has many other specific meanings as a noun, verb, and adjective.

Synonym Usage

See flagrant.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rankness
  noun
• rankish
  adjective
• rankless
  adjective
• unranked
  adjective
• rankly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ranks
  plural

Participles

• ranking
  present
• ranked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• rank
  simple
• ranks
  simple
• have ranked
  perfect
• has ranked
  perfect
• am ranking
  progressive
• are ranking
  progressive
• is ranking
  progressive
• have been ranking
  perfect progressive
• has been ranking
  perfect progressive

Past

• ranked
  simple
• had ranked
  perfect
• was ranking
  progressive
• were ranking
  progressive
• had been ranking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will rank
  simple
• will have ranked
  perfect
• will be ranking
  progressive
• will have been ranking
  perfect progressive

---

Etymology

Origin of rank¹

First recorded in 1560–70; from French ranc (noun, obsolete), Old French renc, ranc, rang “row, line,” from Germanic, akin to ring ¹

Origin of rank²

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English ranc “bold, proud, mature, showy”; cognate with Old Norse rakkr “slender, straight, bold”; the original Germanic sense was probably “upright”; the development of the meanings in English is uncertain

---

Explanation

The word rank often deals with one's position or status in a group. In the military, an officer with a high rank will be in charge of soldiers of lower rank. The noun rank refers to a position within a hierarchy, and to rank something is to put it in order — for example, your high school might rank students in terms of their GPAs. You can also use rank to describe an especially foul smell, like the rank gym shoes in the back of your closet. Linguists see the Old English ranc as having roots prior to the 11th century, possibly from the Old Norse rakkr, meaning "straight."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rank Rank ranks ranker rankest ranked ranking

Still, shares were down 60% on the year heading into the report, to rank as the worst 2026 performer within the S&P 500.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026

Where does Barbra Streisand rank for a songwriter looking to get his songs cut?

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026

This isn't an exhaustive list, and you can leave your thoughts in the comments, rank the historic upsets and share your results.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026

"There is some discontent among the rank and file, but they keep it to themselves out of respect for the institution and fear of losing promotions," he added.

From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026

At first, battlefield commanders tended to dismiss shell shock as nothing more than rank cowardice.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

Rank what matters most to you — things like climate, affordability, healthcare, walkability, culture, outdoor recreation, or proximity to family.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

For Mark Rank, the sociologist who's written about this, the Dream, even if more conditional than before, is still alive.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

Another potential beneficiary is Rank One Computing Corp., which saw its stock rise 1.6% on Friday.

From Barron's ● May 1, 2026

Appeared in the November 12, 2025, print edition as 'Where Does Hope Rank?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 11, 2025

Rank meant little to the men on combat duty, and relations between officers and enlisted men were relaxed and informal.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

He ranks 31st in QB rating among passers with at least 100 attempts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

In BHP’s ADRs, short interest is 0.76%—which might appear modest, but ranks near the 97th percentile of its own range over the same period, Jefferies says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

Microsoft’s packages carry six or 12 months of continued vesting for most ranks, and that stock can be worth more than the weeks of pay.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026

Discovery, CNN’s and CBS’ teams are facing rounds of buyouts and return-to-office orders to thin their ranks.

From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026

Whenever they approached a town, a rumor would sweep through their ranks that the Germans were already there.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson

Nielsen, which releases a weekly ratings ranker for streaming content, also uses hours watched to rank programs.

From New York Times ● Nov. 16, 2021

News, the magazine that has already established itself as the most noticed ranker of the nation’s colleges and universities.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 13, 2017

“Because I intend on making one that’s a whole lot ranker than we’ve had before.”

From The New Yorker ● Dec. 1, 2014

As contact man with the field, General Marshall had another Army ranker as Assistant Secretary of State for occupied areas: Major General John H. Hilldring, onetime Civil Affairs Division chief in the War Department.

From Time Magazine Archive

But that's what I am—a gentleman ranker; going out to the war of wars—a private.

From Men, Women and Guns by H. C. (Herman Cyril) McNeile

"Every time we accelerated on the highway, whale juice would pour into the windows of the car, and it was the rankest thing on the planet," Ms Kennedy told the magazine.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2024

The feminist with a fundamentally optimistic vision, who believed that people, especially men, could be better, might be soon replaced by the rankest misogynist.

From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2020

The rankest compound of villainous smell that ever offended nostril.

From Washington Post ● May 10, 2018

For the F.A., claiming to be the world’s policeman while turning a blind eye to apparent offenses at home would have been the rankest hypocrisy.

From New York Times ● Sep. 27, 2016

Raisins and nuts and dried ber-ries, but no lemon, that was the rankest sort of southron heresy—which was queer, since he always took lemon in his morning beer.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

Doncic, however, entered the game as the top scorer in the league, averaging 38.3 points per game, and he ranked third in assists, averaging 8.1.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

Ronaldo scored 118 goals in 292 games in his first spell at United, and one was ranked above all the others.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

Instead of picking just one of several candidates, voters receive a complex grid, with a line of names down one side, ranked positions along the top, and 25 bubbles—for each separate race.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

If not, it will trigger the state’s ranked choice voting process, which reallocates support from the two lowest-vote-getting candidates to those voters’ second-, third-, and potentially fourth-choice candidates.

From Slate ● Nov. 4, 2026

His winning average of 19 percent ranked him in a tie for sixteenth among fully employed riders.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

“It’s hard to imagine it’s good news for these industries,” said former Sen. Pat Toomey, previously a Republican ranking member of the banking committee.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

A recent report only gave 39 clean audits - the highest ranking a public entity can achieve - between 2024 and 2025.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

Google’s core business, built upon ranking and indexing the open web, is facing a structural disruption as artificial intelligence changes how users navigate the internet.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 31, 2026

Brazilians are some of the most prolific buyers of Florida real estate, ranking second after Canadians for the number of transactions, according to a new report.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

I hadn’t broken through on the domestic circuit yet, so my national ranking was barely worth mentioning.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• class
• division
• family
• grade
• hierarchy
• level
• position
• reputation
• slot
• stature
• status

---