rank and file
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rank and file
n.
1. The enlisted troops, excluding noncommissioned officers, in an army.
2. The people who form the major portion of a group, organization, or society, excluding the leaders and officers.
rank′-and-file′ adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
rank and file
n
1. (Military) the ordinary soldiers of an army, excluding the officers
2. the great mass or majority of any group or organization, as opposed to the leadership
3. (modifier) of, relating to, or characteristic of the rank and file: rank-and-file opinion; rank-and-file support. Also: rank-and-file
rank and filer n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
rank′ and file′
n.
1. the members of any organization, esp. a union, apart from its leaders or officers.
[1590–1600]
rank′-and-file′, adj.
rank′-and-fil′er, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. | rank and file - the ordinary members of an organization (such as the enlisted soldiers of an army); "the strike was supported by the union rank and file"; "he rose from the ranks to become a colonel" armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine - the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker" personnel, force - group of people willing to obey orders; "a public force is necessary to give security to the rights of citizens" enlisted man - a male enlisted person in the armed forces |
| 2. | rank and file - people who constitute the main body of any group people - (plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively; "old people"; "there were at least 200 people in the audience" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
rank and file
noun
1. general public, body, majority, mass, masses, Joe (and Eileen) Public (slang), Joe Six-Pack (U.S. slang) There was widespread support for him among the rank and file.
2. lower ranks, men, troops, soldiers, other ranks, private soldiers the rank and file of the Red Army
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002