Meaning & use
rallied
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“rallied” is a form of “rally”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitive
To come together again as a group in order to continue a struggle or effort after a defeat or setback.
Grammar: No object; the people or group is the subject: The team rallied after the goal.
Patterns
- someone rallies after something
- someone rallies around someone
The fans rallied after the team lost the first game.
The community rallied around the family whose house had burned down.
Despite the early problems, the staff rallied and finished the project on time.
verbintransitive
To recover strength or value after a period of weakness, especially in health or in financial markets.
Grammar: No object; often used about prices, shares, or a sick person's condition.
Patterns
- something rallies after something
- something rallies from something
The patient rallied after the operation and was able to go home.
Share prices rallied in late trading after a weak start.
The economy rallied in the second half of the year.
verbtransitive
To gather people together for a common purpose or to organize support for a cause.
Grammar: Takes an object: rally the troops. Often used with 'support' or 'behind'.
Patterns
- rally support for something
- rally people behind someone
The leader rallied support for the new policy.
She rallied her colleagues behind the campaign for better pay.
The speech rallied the crowd to action.
Word forms
| third person singular | rallies |
|---|---|
| past tense | rallied |
| past participle | rallied |
| -ing form | rallying |
Common combinations
- rally around
- The neighbors rallied around the victims of the flood.
- rally support
- The candidate worked hard to rally support in rural areas.
- rally from behind
- The team rallied from behind to win the match.
- rally the troops
- The coach tried to rally the troops before the final quarter.
Synonyms and how they differ
- recover
- Focuses on getting better after an illness or difficulty; rally often suggests a more active or collective effort.
- rebound
- Common in finance and sports for a quick upward movement; rally is similar but can also mean coming together as a group.
- unite
- Emphasizes joining together for a common aim; rally often implies doing so after a setback or in a crisis.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: rallied or really?
rallied vs really
Really is an adverb meaning 'very' or 'in fact'; rallied is the past tense of the verb rally.
Practice
After a slow start, the company's shares ____ sharply in the last hour of trading.
Choose one answer.
The sentence describes a completed past action, so the past tense 'rallied' is correct. 'Rallying' is a present participle and would need a helping verb; 'rallies' is present tense and does not fit the past time reference; 'rally' is the base form and cannot stand alone as the main past-tense verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “rallied”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.