echelon

UK: /ˈɛʃəlɒn/ US: /ˈɛʃəˌlɑn/ ,(esh′ə lon′)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ech•e•lon /ˈɛʃəˌlɑn/   n. [countable]

1. a level of command, authority, or rank:
   the upper echelons of the administration.
2. Military a steplike formation, as of troops, ships, or planes.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

ech•e•lon  (esh′ə lon′), n. 

1. a level of command, authority, or rank:
   the top echelon of city officials.
2. Military a formation of troops, ships, airplanes, etc., in which groups of soldiers or individual vehicles or craft are arranged in parallel lines, each to the right or left of the one in front, so that the whole presents the appearance of steps.
3. Military one of the groups of a formation so arranged.
4. Optics, Physics Also called ech′elon grat′ing. Spectroscopy. a diffraction grating that is used in the resolution of fine structure lines and consists of a series of plates of equal thickness stacked in staircase fashion.

v.t., v.i. 

5. to form in an echelon.

• Latin scāla; see scale³) + -on noun, nominal suffix
• French échelon, origin, originally rung of a ladder, Old French eschelon, equivalent. to esch(i)ele ladder (
• 1790–1800

ech′e•lon′ment, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. grade, position, rating.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

echelon / ˈɛʃəˌlɒn/ noun

1. a level of command, responsibility, etc (esp in the phrase the upper echelons)
2. a formation in which units follow one another but are offset sufficiently to allow each unit a line of fire ahead
3. a group formed in this way

verb

1. to assemble in echelon

Etymology: 18th Century: from French échelon, literally: rung of a ladder, from Old French eschiele ladder, from Latin scāla; see scale³