Main Entry: ¹range

Pronunciation: \ˈrānj\

Function: noun

Usage: often attributive

Etymology: Middle English, row of persons, from Anglo-French range, renge, from renger to range

Date: 14th century

1 a (1) : a series of things in a line : row (2) : a series of mountains (3) : one of the north-south rows of townships in a United States public-land survey that are numbered east and west from the principal meridian of the survey b : an aggregate of individuals in one order c : a direction line
2 : a cooking stove that has an oven and a flat top with burners or heating elements
3 a : a place that may be ranged over b : an open region over which animals (as livestock) may roam and feed c : the region throughout which a kind of organism or ecological community naturally lives or occurs
4 : the act of ranging about
5 a (1) : the horizontal distance to which a projectile can be propelled (2) : the horizontal distance between a weapon and target b : the maximum distance a vehicle or craft can travel without refueling c (1) : a place where shooting is practiced (2) : driving range
6 a : the space or extent included, covered, or used : scope b : the extent of pitch covered by a melody or lying within the capacity of a voice or instrument
7 a : a sequence, series, or scale between limits <a wide range of patterns> b : the limits of a series : the distance or extent between possible extremes c : the difference between the least and greatest values of an attribute or of the variable of a frequency distribution
8 a : the set of values a function may take on b : the class of admissible values of a variable
9 : line 11

synonyms range, gamut, compass, sweep, scope, orbit mean the extent that lies within the powers of something (as to cover or control). range is a general term indicating the extent of one's perception or the extent of powers, capacities, or possibilities <the entire range of human experience>. gamut suggests a graduated series running from one possible extreme to another <a performance that ran the gamut of emotions>. compass implies a sometimes limited extent of perception, knowledge, or activity <your concerns lie beyond the narrow compass of this study>. sweep suggests extent, often circular or arc-shaped, of motion or activity <the book covers the entire sweep of criminal activity>. scope is applicable to an area of activity, predetermined and limited, but somewhat flexible <as time went on, the scope of the investigation widened>. orbit suggests an often circumscribed range of activity or influence within which forces work toward accommodation <within that restricted orbit they tried to effect social change>.