- chiefly US Canadian highest in rank
- Caribbean slang possessed of style; fashionable; exciting
- a position on a scale; rating: a ranking in a tennis tournament
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
rank•ing /ˈræŋkɪŋ/USA pronunciation
adj. [before a noun]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- being superior in rank, position, etc.:a ranking diplomat.
- highly regarded:a ranking authority.
- (used after another word) of or having a certain rank:a low-ranking executive.
rank•ing
(rang′king),USA pronunciation adj.
n.
- senior or superior in rank, position, etc.:a ranking diplomat.
- prominent or highly regarded:a ranking authority on Soviet affairs.
- occupying a specific rank, position, etc. (often used in combination):a low-ranking executive.
n.
- an act or instance of indicating relative standing.
- a list showing such standing.
- rank1 + -ing2, -ing1 1860–65
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
ranking /ˈræŋkɪŋ/ adj
rank1 /ræŋk/USA pronunciation
n.
v.
rank2 /ræŋk/USA pronunciation adj., -er, -est.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- a social or official position or standing, as in the armed forces:[countable]the rank of captain.
- high position or station:[uncountable]a person of rank.
- relative position or standing:[uncountable]a writer of the first rank.
- a row or series of things or persons:[countable]The orchestra players were arranged in ranks.
- Military ranks, [plural] the members of an armed service apart from its officers;
enlisted personnel. - Usually, ranks. [plural] the people in a group, or the general body of any organization apart from the officers or leaders:in the ranks of the unemployed.
v.
- to (cause to) be assigned to a particular position, class, standing, etc.: [~ + object]to be ranked among the experts.[~ + object + as + object]They ranked him as one of the best pitchers in the world.[no object;
not: be + ~-ing]Their work ranked well above that of the other students.
- Idioms, break ranks:
- to leave an assigned position in a military formation.
- to withdraw support from one's colleagues, political party, or the like.
rank2 /ræŋk/USA pronunciation adj., -er, -est.
- Botanygrowing thickly;
vigorous:rank foliage. - having an offensive or very unpleasant smell or taste:a rank cigar.
- complete;
utter;
absolute:[before a noun]a rank amateur.
rank1
(rangk),USA pronunciation n.
v.t.
v.i.
rank′less, adj.
rank2 (rangk),USA pronunciation adj., -er, -est.
rank′ish, adj.
rank′ly, adv.
rank′ness, n.
Rank (rängk),USA pronunciation n.
- a number of persons forming a separate class in a social hierarchy or in any graded body.
- a social or official position or standing, as in the armed forces:the rank of captain.
- high position or station in the social or some similar scale:a woman of rank.
- a class in any scale of comparison.
- relative position or standing:a writer of the first rank.
- a row, line, or series of things or persons:orchestra players arranged in ranks.
- Military ranks:
- the members of an armed service apart from its officers;
enlisted personnel. - military enlisted personnel as a group.
- the members of an armed service apart from its officers;
- Usually, ranks. the general body of any party, society, or organization apart from the officers or leaders.
- orderly arrangement;
array. - a line of persons, esp. soldiers, standing abreast in close-order formation (distinguished from file).
- British Termsa place or station occupied by vehicles available for hire;
stand:a taxi rank. - Chessone of the horizontal lines of squares on a chessboard.
- Music and Dancea set of organ pipes of the same kind and tonal color.
- Also called determinant rank. [Math.]the order of the nonzero determinant of greatest order that can be selected from a given matrix by the elimination of rows and columns.
- Miningthe classification of coal according to hardness, from lignite to anthracite.
- break ranks:
- to leave an assigned position in a military formation.
- to disagree with, defect from, or refuse to support one's colleagues, party, or the like.
- pull rank (on), to make use of one's superior rank to gain an advantage over (someone). Also, pull one's rank (on).
v.t.
- to arrange in ranks or in regular formation:The men were ranked according to height. He ranked the chess pieces on the board.
- to assign to a particular position, station, class, etc.:She was ranked among the most admired citizens.
- to outrank:The colonel ranks all other officers in the squadron.
- Slang Termsto insult;
criticize.
v.i.
- to form a rank or ranks.
- to take up or occupy a place in a particular rank, class, etc.:to rank well ahead of the other students.
- to have rank or standing.
- to be the senior in rank:The colonel ranks at this camp.
- Slang Termsto complain.
- Gmc, akin to ring1
- French ranc (noun, nominal, obsolete), Old French renc, ranc, rang row, line
- 1560–70
- 3. distinction, eminence, dignity. 6. range, tier. 9. alignment. 18. align, range, array.
rank2 (rangk),USA pronunciation adj., -er, -est.
- Botanygrowing with excessive luxuriance;
vigorous and tall of growth:tall rank weeds. - producing an excessive and coarse growth, as land.
- having an offensively strong smell or taste:a rank cigar.
- offensively strong, as a smell or taste.
- utter;
absolute:a rank amateur; rank treachery. - highly offensive;
disgusting:a rank sight of carnage. - grossly coarse, vulgar, or indecent:rank language.
- Slang Termsinferior;
contemptible.
- bef. 1000; Middle English; Old English ranc bold, proud; cognate with Old Norse rakkr straight, bold
rank′ly, adv.
rank′ness, n.
- 1. abundant, exuberant. 5. complete, sheer, entire. 6. repulsive, repellent. See flagrant. 7. foul.
Rank (rängk),USA pronunciation n.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
rank /ræŋk/ n
- a position, esp an official one, within a social organization, esp the armed forces: the rank of captain
- high social or other standing; status
- a line or row of people or things
- the position of an item in any ordering or sequence
- Brit a place where taxis wait to be hired
- a line of soldiers drawn up abreast of each other
Compare file1 - any of the eight horizontal rows of squares on a chessboard
- close ranks ⇒ to maintain discipline or solidarity, esp in anticipation of attack
- pull rank ⇒ to get one's own way by virtue of one's superior position or rank
- (transitive) to arrange (people or things) in rows or lines; range
- to accord or be accorded a specific position in an organization, society, or group
- (transitive) 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
- (intransitive) to be important; rate: money ranks low in her order of priorities
- chiefly US to take precedence or surpass in rank
rank /ræŋk/ adj
- showing vigorous and profuse growth: rank weeds
- highly offensive or disagreeable, esp in smell or taste
- (prenominal) complete or absolute; utter: a rank outsider
- coarse or vulgar; gross: his language was rank
'ranking' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
archangel
- archdeacon
- baronet
- beacon status
- brass
- brass hat
- cardinal
- commander
- deacon
- earl
- envoy
- Excellency
- gentlewoman
- google-bombing
- inspector
- instructor
- lieutenant
- mandarin
- margrave
- marquess
- marquis
- matador
- metropolitan
- minister
- nuncio
- palace
- poker
- praetor
- priest
- prior
- rating
- rector
- sergeant
- Solicitor General
- spade
- staff nurse
- standard
- superior court
- thane
- top brass
- vice president
- viscount
- acolyte
- audience
- begum
- captain
- chief warrant officer
- colonel
- commoner
- corporal