Definitions for rank and file
Random House Webster's College Dictionary
rank′ and file′(n.)
the members of any organization, esp. a union, apart from its leaders or officers.
Category: Common Vocabulary
Category: Common Vocabulary, Military
Ref: rank1 (def. 6a). 1 1 7 1
Origin of rank and file:
1590–1600
rank′-and-fil′er(n.)
Princeton's WordNet
rank and file, rank(noun)
the ordinary members of an organization (such as the enlisted soldiers of an army)
"the strike was supported by the union rank and file"; "he rose from the ranks to become a colonel"
rank and file(noun)
people who constitute the main body of any group
Wiktionary
rank and file(Noun)
Common soldiers, as would be arrayed in a grid pattern with ranks and files.
rank and file(Noun)
Those lacking any particular title or status; those having no station.
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