rung

¹ American  

[ruhng] / rʌŋ /

verb

1. simple past tense and past participle of ring.

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rung ² American  

[ruhng] / rʌŋ /

noun

1. one of the crosspieces, usually rounded, forming the steps of a ladder.

2. a rounded or shaped piece fixed horizontally, for strengthening purposes, as between the legs of a chair.

3. a spoke of a wheel.

4. a stout stick, rod, or bar, especially one of rounded section, forming a piece in something framed or constructed.

5. a stage in a scale, level in a hierarchy, etc.; degree.

   He rose a few rungs in the company.

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rung ¹ British  

/ rʌŋ /

noun

1. one of the bars or rods that form the steps of a ladder

2. a crosspiece between the legs of a chair, etc

3. nautical a spoke on a ship's wheel or a handle projecting from the periphery

4. dialect a cudgel or staff

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rung ² British  

/ rʌŋ /

verb

1. the past participle of ring 2

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Other Word Forms

• rungless adjective

Etymology

Origin of rung

before 1000; Middle English; Old English hrung; cognate with Gothic hrunga rod, German Runge

Example Sentences

The single opens with the sound of jingle bells being briskly rung.

From Salon

The missing lower rung in today’s career ladder isn’t a problem to be solved.

From The Wall Street Journal

Now 19, and having rung the "all-clear" from cancer bell in March, she says she is "coming out of the other side" and "loving life" at Manchester Metropolitan University.

From BBC

No wonder Dante, the Florence-born author of the “Divine Comedy,” consigned counterfeiters to the eighth circle of hell, “just one rung higher than Lucifer in the ninth.”

From The Wall Street Journal

The last rung on that wall of worry is whether a shift in tech leadership could bring about another DeepSeek moment, when AI stocks slumped in the wake of the release of the Chinese model.

From MarketWatch