English Dictionary |
RANK AND FILE
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Dictionary entry overview: What does rank and file mean?
• RANK AND FILE (noun)
The noun RANK AND FILE has 2 senses:
1. the ordinary members of an organization (such as the enlisted soldiers of an army)
2. people who constitute the main body of any group
Familiarity information: RANK AND FILE used as a noun is rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
The ordinary members of an organization (such as the enlisted soldiers of an army)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Synonyms:
rank; rank and file
Context example:
he rose from the ranks to become a colonel
Hypernyms ("rank and file" is a kind of...):
force; personnel (group of people willing to obey orders)
Meronyms (members of "rank and file"):
enlisted man (a male enlisted person in the armed forces)
Domain category:
armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)
Sense 2
Meaning:
People who constitute the main body of any group
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("rank and file" is a kind of...):
people ((plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively)
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