Meaning & use
rank
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
A position in an organization, scale, or system that shows seniority, status, or ability.
Grammar: Countable for a level, as in a high rank; uncountable when speaking of rank in general.
Patterns
- hold a high rank
- rise in rank
- rank among something
She holds the rank of captain and commands sixty soldiers.
The restaurant rose in rank after winning three national awards.
nouncountablemilitary
A line or row of people or things, especially soldiers standing side by side.
Grammar: Often plural, ranks, for several rows or a massed formation.
Patterns
- stand in ranks
- break ranks
- ranks of seats
The choir entered in neat ranks from both sides of the hall.
Spectators stood in ranks behind the safety fence.
nounusually plural
The ordinary members of a group, as opposed to its leaders or officers.
Grammar: Used in the phrase the ranks; it does not mean a single position.
Patterns
- join the ranks
- come up through the ranks
- the ranks of workers
He came up through the ranks to become warehouse manager.
Volunteers joined the ranks of helpers after the flood.
adjectivecomparableliterarydisapproving
Having a strong, unpleasant smell that is sharp or stale.
Grammar: Gradable with very, though comparative forms are uncommon; usually before a noun.
Patterns
- a rank smell
- rank air
A rank smell rose from the neglected drain.
The cellar was damp, dark, and rank.
adjectivebefore a nounliterarydisapproving
Being a complete or obvious example of something bad.
Grammar: Always before the noun and not normally compared; common in rank injustice or rank stupidity.
Patterns
- rank injustice
- rank stupidity
- rank hypocrisy
The fine was dismissed as rank injustice by local drivers.
His excuse showed rank hypocrisy after years of promises.
Word forms
| plural | ranks |
|---|---|
| comparative | ranker |
| superlative | rankest |
Common combinations
- high rank
- Officers of high rank attended the ceremony.
- rise through the ranks
- She rose through the ranks by learning every station in the factory.
- break ranks
- Several deputies broke ranks and voted against the bill.
- rank odor
- A rank odor warned us that the meat had spoiled.
Synonyms and how they differ
- status
- Close for social or professional position, but rank is clearer in armed forces and ordered hierarchies.
- standing
- Emphasizes reputation or position over time; rank suggests an assigned level.
- grade
- Used for levels in school, quality, or pay; less natural for military seniority.
- stinking
- Informal and very strong for the smell sense; rank is more literary and controlled.
Word family
- ranking noun
- A position on a list, especially in sports or search results.
- ranked adjective
- Placed at a particular level on an official list.
Commonly confused: rank or rant? rank or file?
rank vs rant
Rank and rant share letters and r sound; rank is position or adjective, rant is angry speech.
rank vs file
In some formations file means a line one behind another; ranks are side by side across a front.
Practice
The phrase ordinary soldiers rather than officers is expressed by the ___.
Choose one answer.
The ranks is a fixed plural phrase for ordinary members; ranking is a list position, and rank odor is an unrelated adjective use.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “rank”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.