Showing results for "ranking"

• present participle of rank.

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.

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noun

rankings plural

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

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noun

1. a position on a scale; rating

   a ranking in a tennis tournament

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• rankings
  plural

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."

Example Sentences

Ranking high on our lists for the greatest women and minority businesspeople were Oprah Winfrey, Mary Kay Ash and Madame C.J.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 25, 2026

Ranking member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said he was “very taken aback” by the rules being “not enforced and certainly just broken immediately.”

From Salon • Feb. 27, 2026

Bencic and Svitolina both took advantage of the Special Ranking Rule for returning mothers.

From Barron's • Feb. 3, 2026

Consider the disconnect in Detroit: The actual average home price in the city was $262,145 at the end of September, according to the Beracha and Johnson Housing Ranking Index, which Johnson co-developed.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 7, 2025

Ranking first among the many interesting groups of ruins discovered by these gentlemen, both in respect to their extent and character, are those of Chichen-itza.

From Ophiolatreia An Account of the Rites and Mysteries Connected with the Origin, Rise, and Development of Serpent Worship in Various Parts of the World by Anonymous

Related Words

• extent
• proportion
• range
• rate
• ratio
• scope
• system