Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

ranking

American  
[rang-king] / ˈræŋ kɪŋ /

adjective

  1. senior or superior in rank, position, etc..

    a ranking diplomat.

  2. prominent or highly regarded.

    a ranking authority on Soviet affairs.

  3. occupying a specific rank, position, etc. (often used in combination).

    a low-ranking executive.

noun

  1. an act or instance of indicating relative standing.

  2. a list showing such standing.

ranking British  
/ ˈræŋkɪŋ /

adjective

  1. prominent; high ranking

  2. slang possessed of style; fashionable; exciting

"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

noun

  1. a position on a scale; rating

    a ranking in a tennis tournament
"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

Etymology

Origin of ranking

First recorded in 1860–65; rank 1 + -ing 2, -ing 1

Explanation

Your spot on a scale is your ranking. If your football team has a #10 ranking and you’re playing #1, well good luck. Your class ranking is how you measure up. The student with the highest ranking is the valedictorian. All kinds of things have rankings, from the top 100 colleges in the US to a person's constantly updated list of favorite horror movies. Athletes and the teams they play for have rankings too. In the military, someone who has a higher rank, or position, than anyone else who's present might say, "As the ranking officer, I'll command the troops to retreat."

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing ranking

Vocabulary Bowl Vocabulary

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

"The Fast and the Fuel-Efficient" and "Teens Open Doors"

Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Dishwashers’ pay averages around $32,500 a year, ranking in the bottom third of restaurant jobs, according to jobs platform Indeed.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026

Over the past decade its average annual return is just 0.9%, ranking it at the very bottom—the 100th percentile—in its Morningstar category over the period.

From Barron's • Apr. 12, 2026

But they overcame the disparity in ranking and experience to reach the finals for the third year in a row.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026

The fact that the person on the other end of the phone is a ranking Republican member of Congress made that statement even more poignant.

From Salon • Apr. 10, 2026

That chant did more than threaten a slave revolt—it was a challenge to all ranking hierarchies.

From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.