RANK AND FILE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 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 

• RANK AND FILE (noun)

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)