Definition

Noun: 1. The ordinary members of a group or organization: This term refers to the majority of people in an organization who are not in leadership or management positions. They form the main body or the general membership. 2. The common soldiers of an army, excluding the officers: In a military context, it specifically denotes enlisted personnel, as opposed to the commissioned officers.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The new policy was unpopular with the union's rank and file.
  • A colonel must understand the concerns of the rank and file.
  • The decision was made by leadership without consulting the rank and file.

Advanced Usage

• "the rank and file": Always used with the definite article "the." It functions as a collective noun, referring to the group as a whole.
  • The proposal will be put to a vote of the rank and file.

Variants and Related Words

• Ranker (n): A person who has risen from the ranks, especially a commissioned officer who was formerly a non-commissioned officer.
  • As a former ranker, he had the respect of the soldiers.

Synonyms

• Grassroots: The most basic level of an organization or society.
• The membership: The body of members in a group.
• The troops: Common soldiers; can be used metaphorically for members of any group.

Related Phrases

• From the ranks: Originating from the ordinary members or soldiers.
  • She rose from the ranks to become CEO.

Related Idioms

• Rank-and-file member: A specific term for an individual who is part of this group.
  • He has been a loyal rank-and-file member for twenty years.

Noun

1. people who constitute the main body of any group
2. 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