rung

1 the placement of someone or something in relation to others in a vertical arrangement <the greasy spoon restaurant was several rungs below the kind of establishment in which we usually dined> Synonyms degree, echelon, footing, level, place, position, ranking, reach(es), rank, situation, standing, station, status, stratumRelated Words condition, estate, order, walk; capacity, function; rating

2 Scottish  a heavy rigid stick used as a weapon or for punishment <the watchman usually carried a stout oak rung> Synonyms bastinado (or bastinade), bat, baton, billy, billy club, bludgeon, cane, cudgel, nightstick, rod, club [Scottish], sap, shillelagh (also shillalah), staff, truncheon, waddy [Australian]Related Words blackjack, knobkerrie, mace; birch, crabstick, hickory, rattan, stave, switch; beetle, gavel, hammer, mallet, maul, sledgehammer; crook, crosier (or crozier), walking stick, whangee