range

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
range/reɪnʤ/

▶noun

• 1 the area of variation between limits on a particular scale.

• 2 a set of different things of the same general type: a wide range of banking services.

• 3 the scope or extent of a person's or thing's abilities or capacity.

• 4 the distance within which a sense, detector, transmitter, etc. is effective.

  ■ the distance that can be covered by a vehicle or aircraft without refuelling.

  ■ the distance attained or attainable by a gun, projectile, etc.

  ■ the distance between a camera and the subject to be photographed.

• 5 a line or series of mountains or hills.

• 6 a large area of open land for grazing or hunting.

  ■ the area over which a plant or animal is distributed.

• 7 an area used as a testing ground for military equipment.

  ■ (also shooting range) an area with targets for shooting practice.

• 8 a large cooking stove with several burners or hotplates.

▶verb

• 1 vary or extend between specified limits.

• 2 place or arrange in a row or rows or in a specified manner.

  ■ run or extend in a line in a particular direction.

  ■ Brit. Printing (with reference to type) align or be aligned at the ends of successive lines.

• 3 (range someone against or be ranged against) place someone or be placed in opposition to.

• 4 travel or wander over a wide area.

• 5 cover a wide number of different topics.

• 6 find the range of a target.

• 7 (with reference to a projectile) send or be sent a specified distance.

– origin ME (in the sense ‘line of people or animals’): from OFr. range ‘row, rank’, from rangier ‘put in order’, from rang ‘rank’.