ranked

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

rank¹ /ræŋk/   n. 

1. a social or official position or standing, as in the armed forces:
   [countable] the rank of captain.
2. high position or station:
   [uncountable] a person of rank.
3. relative position or standing:
   [uncountable] a writer of the first rank.
4. a row or series of things or persons:
   [countable] The orchestra players were arranged in ranks.
5. Military ranks, [plural] the members of an armed service apart from its officers;
   enlisted personnel.
6. 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. 

7. 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

8. 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/   adj., -er, -est. 

1. Botany growing thickly;
   vigorous:
   rank foliage.
2. having an offensive or very unpleasant smell or taste:
   a rank cigar.
3. complete;
   utter;
   absolute:
   [before a noun] a rank amateur.

rank•ness, n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

rank¹  (rangk), n. 

1. a number of persons forming a separate class in a social hierarchy or in any graded body.
2. a social or official position or standing, as in the armed forces:
   the rank of captain.
3. high position or station in the social or some similar scale:
   a woman of rank.
4. a class in any scale of comparison.
5. relative position or standing:
   a writer of the first rank.
6. a row, line, or series of things or persons:
   orchestra players arranged in ranks.
7. Military ranks:
   • the members of an armed service apart from its officers;
     enlisted personnel.
   • military enlisted personnel as a group.
8. Usually, ranks. the general body of any party, society, or organization apart from the officers or leaders.
9. orderly arrangement;
   array.
10. a line of persons, esp. soldiers, standing abreast in close-order formation (distinguished from file).
11. British Terms a place or station occupied by vehicles available for hire;
    stand:
    a taxi rank.
12. Chess one of the horizontal lines of squares on a chessboard.
13. Music and Dance a set of organ pipes of the same kind and tonal color.
14. 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.
15. Mining the classification of coal according to hardness, from lignite to anthracite.
16. 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.
17. 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. 

18. to arrange in ranks or in regular formation:
    The men were ranked according to height. He ranked the chess pieces on the board.
19. to assign to a particular position, station, class, etc.:
    She was ranked among the most admired citizens.
20. to outrank:
    The colonel ranks all other officers in the squadron.
21. Slang Terms to insult;
    criticize.

v.i. 

22. to form a rank or ranks.
23. to take up or occupy a place in a particular rank, class, etc.:
    to rank well ahead of the other students.
24. to have rank or standing.
25. to be the senior in rank:
    The colonel ranks at this camp.
26. Slang Terms to complain.

• Gmc, akin to ring¹
• French ranc (noun, nominal, obsolete), Old French renc, ranc, rang row, line
• 1560–70

rank′less, adj. 
Synonyms

• 3. distinction, eminence, dignity.
• 6. range, tier.
• 9. alignment.
• 18. align, range, array.

rank²  (rangk), adj., -er, -est. 

1. Botany growing with excessive luxuriance;
   vigorous and tall of growth:
   tall rank weeds.
2. producing an excessive and coarse growth, as land.
3. having an offensively strong smell or taste:
   a rank cigar.
4. offensively strong, as a smell or taste.
5. utter;
   absolute:
   a rank amateur; rank treachery.
6. highly offensive;
   disgusting:
   a rank sight of carnage.
7. grossly coarse, vulgar, or indecent:
   rank language.
8. Slang Terms inferior;
   contemptible.

• bef. 1000; Middle English; Old English ranc bold, proud; cognate with Old Norse rakkr straight, bold

rank′ish, adj. 
rank′ly, adv. 
rank′ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. abundant, exuberant.
• 5. complete, sheer, entire.
• 6. repulsive, repellent. See flagrant. 
• 7. foul.

Rank  (rängk), n. 

Ot•to  (ôt′ō), 1884–1939, Austrian psychoanalyst.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

rank / ræŋk/ noun

1. a position, esp an official one, within a social organization, esp the armed forces: the rank of captain
2. high social or other standing; status
3. a line or row of people or things
4. the position of an item in any ordering or sequence
5. a place where taxis wait to be hired
6. a line of soldiers drawn up abreast of each other
   Compare file15
7. any of the eight horizontal rows of squares on a chessboard
8. close ranks ⇒ to maintain discipline or solidarity, esp in anticipation of attack
9. pull rank ⇒ to get one's own way by virtue of one's superior position or rank

verb

1. (transitive) to arrange (people or things) in rows or lines; range
2. to accord or be accorded a specific position in an organization, society, or group
3. (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
4. (intransitive) to be important; rate: money ranks low in her order of priorities
5. to take precedence or surpass in rank

Etymology: 16th Century: from Old French ranc row, rank, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German hring circle

rank / ræŋk/ adjective

1. showing vigorous and profuse growth: rank weeds
2. highly offensive or disagreeable, esp in smell or taste
3. (prenominal) complete or absolute; utter: a rank outsider
4. coarse or vulgar; gross: his language was rank

Etymology: Old English ranc straight, noble; related to Old Norse rakkr upright, Dutch, Swedish rank tall and thin, weak

ˈrankly adverb

ˈrankness noun