Meaning of rank In English

• 0 a position in an organization, such as the army, showing the importance of the person having it:

  • senior/high/junior/low rank

  • He has just been promoted to the rank of captain.

  • Ministers of cabinet rank receive a higher salary than other ministers.

  • Having a large income is one of the advantages of rank (= high position).

  • He's in the front/first rank of (= one of the best) international tennis players.

  • Consumer preferences were placed in rank order from 1 to 5.

  • Party ranks have swelled by nearly 300,000.

  • Marty has joined the ranks of the (= become) unemployed.

  • The party leadership seems to be losing support in the ranks.

  • He rose through the ranks to become a general.

  • He joined the company in 2008 and has been rising through the ranks ever since.

• 1 a row, especially of people or things standing side by side:

  • The front rank of the riot squad raised their shields.

  • literary We could see nothing for miles but serried ranks (= many close rows) of fir trees.

  • There were no taxis at the taxi/cab rank.

• 2 (especially of something bad) complete or extreme:

  • It was rank stupidity to drive so fast on an icy road.

  • The horse that won the race was a rank outsider.

• 3 used to describe plants that grow too fast or too thickly, or an area covered by these:

  • The abandoned garden was rank with weeds.

• 4 smelling strong and unpleasant:

  • His clothes were rank with sweat.

• 5 to have a position higher or lower than others, or to be considered to have such a position:

  • A captain ranks (= has a position) above a lieutenant.

  • My entry was ranked third in the flower show.

  • She ranked the bottles in order of size along the shelf.

  • In my opinion, he ranks among the theatre's greatest actors.

  • 2012 must rank as (= be) the most difficult year for Europe since the 30s.

• 6 a position in relation to others higher or lower, showing the importance or authority of the person having it:

  • [ C ] You get more privileges if you have a higher rank.

  • [ U ] He rose quickly in rank.

• 7 smelling very unpleasant:

  • a rank odor

• 8 a position in an organization such as the government, army, etc. that shows the importance of someone's job compared to other positions:

  • high/low/middle rank The committee usually consists of people of a higher rank than the person being interviewed.

  • a management/executive rank

  • the top/highest rank

  • Despite his lack of Cabinet rank, U.N. diplomats said that the US representative would be listened to carefully.

• 9 a particular position in a list that shows how important, good, profitable, etc. something is compared to other things of the same type:

  • the first/top/highest rank of sth A big merger would put the firm into the first rank of global companies.

  • fall/slip in rank The fund has slipped in rank to eighth position in the Nasdaq.

  • the bottom/lowest rank

• 10 the members of a group or organization:

  • Party ranks have grown by nearly 100,000.

  • the ranks of sth The deal will help them join the ranks of the established leaders in the mobile phone market.

  • Solidarity in the ranks has produced an agreement that protects jobs for our communities.

• 11 to keep moving up from a low position in an organization to higher ones:

  • He joined the company in 2000 and has been rising through the ranks ever since.

• 12 to have or be put into a position on a list of other similar things or people, that compares their importance, level of success, etc.:

  • rank third/thirtieth, etc. The chemical company will rank 17th among U.S. chemical companies based on sales.

  • be ranked third/thirtieth, etc. The Japan fund has gone from strength to strength and is ranked fourth in its sector.

  • rank (sth) among sth The district ranks among the bottom ten in the state for residents' income.

  • She was ranked among the 25 most powerful business women in the world.

  • rank low/high Energy costs rank high in importance in consumer's minds.

  • rank above/below sth England ranked below many other European countries for employment.

• 13 to make a list of things in order, comparing their importance, level of success, quality, etc.:

  • We rank a broad range of stocks using both value characteristics and growth characteristics.

  • When facing a number of challenges, it is often useful to rank their importance so appropriate attention can be provided.

  • rank sth according to/by sth Cities were ranked according to how many international conferences they hosted.