rank meaning and definition

RANK noun

Definition of rank (noun)

1. a row or line of people (especially soldiers or police) standing abreast of one another
   • "the entrance was guarded by ranks of policemen"
2. relative status
   • "his salary was determined by his rank and seniority"
3. the ordinary members of an organization (such as the enlisted soldiers of an army)
   • "the strike was supported by the union rank and file"; "he rose from the ranks to become a colonel"
   • synonyms: rank and file
4. position in a social hierarchy
   • "the British are more aware of social status than Americans are"
   • synonyms: social rank, social station, social status
5. the body of members of an organization or group
   • "they polled their membership"; "they found dissension in their own ranks"; "he joined the ranks of the unemployed"
   • synonyms: membership

RANK verb

Definition of rank (verb)

1. take or have a position relative to others
   • "This painting ranks among the best in the Western World"
2. assign a rank or rating to
   • "how would you rank these students?"; "The restaurant is rated highly in the food guide"
   • synonyms: grade, order, place, range, rate
3. take precedence or surpass others in rank
   • synonyms: outrank

RANK adjective

Definition of rank (adjective)

1. very fertile; producing profuse growth
   • "rank earth"
2. very offensive in smell or taste
   • "a rank cigar"
3. conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible
   • "a crying shame"; "an egregious lie"; "flagrant violation of human rights"; "a glaring error"; "gross ineptitude"; "gross injustice"; "rank treachery"
   • synonyms: crying, egregious, flagrant, glaring, gross
4. complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers
   • "absolute freedom"; "an absolute dimwit"; "a downright lie"; "out-and-out mayhem"; "an out-and-out lie"; "a rank outsider"; "many right-down vices"; "got the job through sheer persistence"; "sheer stupidity"
   • synonyms: absolute, downright, out-and-out, right-down, sheer
5. growing profusely
   • "rank jungle vegetation"