rank

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
rank1

▶noun

• 1 a position within a fixed hierarchy, especially that of the armed forces.

• 2 high social standing.

• 3 a single line of soldiers or police officers drawn up abreast.

  ■ a regular row or line of things or people.

• 4 (the ranks) (in the armed forces) those who are not commissioned officers.

• 5 (ranks) the people belonging to or constituting a group or class: the ranks of the unemployed.

• 6 Chess each of the eight rows of eight squares running from side to side across a chessboard. Compare with file2 (in sense 3).

• 7 Brit. short for taxi rank.

• 8 Mathematics the value or the order of the largest non-zero determinant of a given matrix.

▶verb

• 1 give (someone or something) a rank within a grading system.

• 2 hold a specified rank.

• 3 US take precedence over (someone) in respect to rank.

• 4 arrange in a row or rows.

– phrases
break rank (or ranks)

• 1 (of soldiers or police officers) fail to remain in line.

• 2 fail to maintain solidarity.

close ranks

• 1 (of soldiers or police officers) come closer together in a line.

• 2 unite in order to defend common interests.

pull rank take unfair advantage of one's seniority.

– origin ME: from OFr. ranc, of Gmc origin; rel. to ring1.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
rank2

▶adjective

• 1 having a foul smell.

  ■ informal very unpleasant.

• 2 (especially of something bad) complete; utter: rank stupidity.

• 3 (of vegetation) growing too thickly.

– derivatives
rankly adverb,
rankness noun.

– origin OE ranc ‘proud, rebellious, sturdy’, also ‘fully grown’, of Gmc origin.