Rank
Rank (rank) , adjective
[Anglo-Saxon ranc strong, proud; compare Dutch rank slender, Danish rank upright, erect, Prov. German rank slender, Icelandic rakkr slender, bold. The meaning seems to have been influenced by Latin rancidus, English rancid.]
1.
Luxuriant in growth; of vigorous growth; exuberant; grown to immoderate height; as, rank grass; rank weeds.
And, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good.
2.
Raised to a high degree; violent; extreme; gross; utter; as, rank heresy.
Rank nonsense.
I do forgive thy rankest fault.
3.
Causing vigorous growth; producing luxuriantly; very rich and fertile; as, rank land. — Mortimer
4.
Strong-scented; rancid; musty; as, oil of a rank smell; rank-smelling rue. — Spenser
5.
Strong to the taste.
Divers sea fowls taste rank of the fish on which they feed.
6.
Inflamed with venereal appetite. [Obsolete] — Shakespeare
Collocations (2)
To set or rank , to set so as to take off a thick shaving. — Moxon
Rank , adverb
Rankly; stoutly; violently. [Obsolete]
That rides so rank and bends his lance so fell.
Rank , noun
[Old English renk, reng, Old French renc, French rang, from Old High German hring a circle, a circular row, German ring. See Ring, and compare Range, n. & v.]
1.
A row or line; a range; an order; a tier; as, a rank of osiers.
Many a mountain nigh
Rising in lofty ranks, and loftier still.
2.
(Military) A line of soldiers ranged side by side; -- opposed to file. See 1st File, 1 (a).
Fierce, fiery warriors fought upon the clouds,
In ranks and squadrons and right form of war.
3.
Grade of official standing, as in the army, navy, or nobility; as, the rank of general; the rank of admiral.
4.
An aggregate of individuals classed together; a permanent social class; an order; a division; as, ranks and orders of men; the highest and the lowest ranks of men, or of other intelligent beings.
5.
Degree of dignity, eminence, or excellence; position in civil or social life; station; degree; grade; as, a writer of the first rank; a lawyer of high rank.
These all are virtues of a meaner rank.
6.
Elevated grade or standing; high degree; high social position; distinction; eminence; as, a man of rank.
Collocations (4)
Rank and file (Military) , (a) (Mil.) The whole body of common soldiers, including also corporals. In a more extended sense, it includes sergeants also, excepting the noncommissioned staff.<-- analogously, the lowest ranking members of any organization --> (b) See under 1st File.
The ranks , the order or grade of common soldiers; as, to reduce a noncommissioned officer to the ranks.
To fill the ranks , to supply the whole number, or a competent number.
To take rank of , to have precedence over, or to have the right of taking a higher place than.
Rank (rankt) , transitive verb
1.
To place abreast, or in a line.
2.
To range in a particular class, order, or division; to class; also, to dispose methodically; to place in suitable classes or order; to classify.
Ranking all things under general and special heads.
Poets were ranked in the class of philosophers.
Heresy is ranked with idolatry and witchcraft.
3.
To take rank of; to outrank. [United States]
Rank , intransitive verb
1.
To be ranged; to be set or disposed, as in a particular degree, class, order, or division.
Let that one article rank with the rest.
2.
To have a certain grade or degree of elevation in the orders of civil or military life; to have a certain degree of esteem or consideration; as, he ranks with the first class of poets; he ranks high in public estimation.