rankræŋk(n.)

1. a social or official position or standing, as in the armed forces:

   the rank of captain.

2. high position or station:

   a person of rank.

3. relative position or standing:

   a writer of the first rank.

4. a row or series of things or persons.

5. a number of persons forming a separate class, as in a social hierarchy.

6. ranks, the members of an armed service apart from its officers; enlisted personnel. military enlisted personnel as a group.

   Category: Common Vocabulary, Military

7. Usu., ranks. the general body of any organization apart from the officers or leaders.

8. orderly arrangement; array.

9. a line of persons, esp. soldiers, standing abreast in close-order formation

   Ref: (disting. from file). 1 1

10. one of the horizontal lines of squares on a chessboard.

    Category: Checkers and Chess

11. a set of organ pipes of the same kind and tonal color.

    Category: Music and Dance

12. Mining. the classification of coal according to hardness, from lignite to anthracite.

    Category: Mining

13. (v.t.)to arrange in ranks or in regular formation.

14. to assign to a particular position, class, etc.:

    to be ranked among the experts.

15. to outrank.

16. (v.i.)to form a rank or ranks.

17. to take up or occupy a place in a particular rank, class, etc.:

    to rank first in her class.

18. to have rank or standing.

19. to be the senior in rank.

Idioms for rank:

1. break ranks, to leave an assigned position in a military formation. to withdraw support from one's colleagues, political party, or the like.

   Category: Idiom, Common Vocabulary

Origin of rank:

1560–70; < MF ranc (n.), OF renc, ranc, rang row, line

rank′less(adj.)

rankræŋk(adj.)-er, -est.

1. growing with excessive luxuriance; vigorous and tall of growth.

   Category: Botany

2. having an offensive smell or taste:

   a rank cigar.

3. utter; absolute:

   a rank amateur.

4. highly offensive to one's moral sense; disgusting.

5. grossly coarse or vulgar:

   rank language.

Origin of rank:

bef. 1000; ME; OE ranc bold, proud; c. ON rakkr straight, bold

rank′ness(n.)