rank

Universal Words noun, verb, adjective noun position in organization / army, etc. 1 [U,C] the position, especially a high position, that sb has in a particular organization, society, etc: She was not used to mixing with people of high social rank. * He rose through the ranks to become managing director. * Within months she was elevated to ministerial rank. * Promotion will mean that I'm immediately above him in rank. seealsoRANKING 2 [C,U] the position that sb has in the army, navy, police, etc: He was soon promoted to the rank of captain. * officers of junior / senior rank * a campaign to attract more women into the military ranks * officers, and other ranks (= people who are not officers) * The colonel was stripped of his rank (= lost his position as colonel). 3 (the ranks) [pl.] the position of ordinary soldiers rather than officers: He served in the ranks for most of the war. * He rose from the ranks (= from being an ordinary soldier) to become a warrant officer. quality 4 [sing.] the degree to which sb/sth is of high quality: a painter of the first rank * Britain is no longer in the front rank of world powers. * The findings are arranged in rank order according to performance. members of group 5 (the ranks) [pl.] the members of a particular group or organization: We have a number of international players in our ranks. * At 50, he was forced to join the ranks of the unemployed. * There were serious divisions within the party's own ranks. line / row 6 [C] a line or row of soldiers, police, etc. standing next to each other: They watched as ranks of marching infantry passed the window. * They fired at random into the enemy ranks. 7 [C] a line or row of people or things: massed ranks of spectators * The trees grew in serried ranks (= very closely together). seealsoTAXIRANK IDIOMS break ranks 1 (of soldiers, police, etc.) to fail to remain in line 2 (of the members of a group) to refuse to support a group or an organization of which they are members: Large numbers of MPs felt compelled to break ranks over the issue. moreatCLOSEv., PULLv. verb (not used in the progressive tenses) give position 1 ~ (sb) (as sth) to give sb/sth a particular position on a scale according to quality, importance, success, etc.; to have a position of this kind: [VN] The tasks have been ranked in order of difficulty. * She is currently the highest ranked player in the world. * top-ranked players * Voters regularly rank education as being more important than defence. * [VN-ADJ] Last year, he was ranked second in his age group. * [V-ADJ] At the height of her career she ranked second in the world. * [VN-N] The university is ranked number one in the country for engineering. * [V] [often +adv./prep.] The restaurant ranks among the finest in town. * It certainly doesn't rank as his greatest win. * This must rank with (= be as good as) one of the greatest movies ever made. * Health and education rank highly with voters. * [V] (AmE) You just don't rank (= you're not good enough). put in line / row 2 [VN] [usuallypassive] to arrange objects in a line or row adjective 1 having a strong unpleasant smell: The house was full of the rank smell of urine. 2 [onlybeforenoun] used to emphasize a particular quality, state, etc: an example of rank stupidity * The winning horse was a rank outsider. 3 (of plants, etc.) growing too thickly: an area overgrown with rank grass and nettles