phalanx

noun pha·lanx \ ˈfā-ˌlaŋ(k)s , British usually ˈfa- \

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of phalanx

plural phalanxes or phalanges play \fə-ˈlan-(ˌ)jēz, fā-, ˈfā-ˌ, British usually fa-\

1 : a body of heavily armed infantry in ancient Greece formed in close deep ranks and files; broadly : a body of troops in close array

2 plural phalanges : one of the digital bones of the hand or foot of a vertebrate

3 plural usually phalanxes

a : a massed arrangement of persons, animals, or things

a phalanx of armed guards

b : an organized body of persons

a phalanx of lawyers

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Examples of phalanx in a Sentence

A solid phalanx of armed guards stood in front of the castle.
She had to go through a phalanx of television cameras.

Recent Examples of phalanx from the Web

The 87,000-year-old fossil turned out to be a human intermediate phalanx—the middle section of your finger—from what was probably a middle finger.

— kiona n. smith, Ars Technica, "Saudi Arabian fossil find puts finger on the story of human dispersal," 9 Apr. 2018
The message Nick Saban relayed to his team behind closed doors was also delivered earlier this week from a podium in front of a phalanx of cameras and an audience of reporters.

— rainer sabin, AL.com, "Inside Nick Saban's message to the Alabama defense," 27 Mar. 2018
His entourage had grown to include a phalanx of police vehicles, headlights flashing white, the light bar alternating red and blue.

— thomas curwen, latimes.com, "During LAPD officer's 100-mile run for fallen heroes, he learned of the death of one more," 12 Mar. 2018
For those who prefer to enjoy their cevapi at home, a freezer case is stocked with packages of Euro Bakery’s house recipe, a phalanx of diminutive links ready for the grill.

— dominic armato, azcentral, "Burek, bread, baklava: 3 Balkan bakeries and restaurants for some of the best comfort food in Phoenix," 28 Mar. 2018
Hundreds of miles away, Ben Shukman, a software engineer for Phantom Auto, was sitting in front of a phalanx of video screens in Mountain View, Calif.

— john r. quain, New York Times, "When Self-Driving Cars Can’t Help Themselves, Who Takes the Wheel?," 15 Mar. 2018
They would be escorted by police, who formed a phalanx around them.

— rj wolcott, Detroit Free Press, "Violence erupts on MSU campus as Richard Spencer speaks," 5 Mar. 2018
After tests, Barcelona later explained that the 29-year-old had suffered a fracture of the fifth phalanx of his right foot, in other words his right little toe, and will be out for around three weeks.

— SI.com, "Barcelona's Sergio Busquets Breaks Toe, Doubtful for UCL Quarterfinals," 15 Mar. 2018
There was a great commotion one evening on Dupont Circle— sirens, motorcycle cops, flashing red and blue lights, a phalanx of Secret Service cars, a black limousine flying a flag followed by more security, even an ambulance.

— carl nolte, San Francisco Chronicle, "Seeing San Francisco through new eyes after trip to tidy D.C.," 10 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'phalanx.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The original sense of "phalanx" refers to a military formation that was used in ancient warfare and consisted of a tight block of soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder, several rows deep, often with shields joined. The word phalanx comes from the Greeks, though they were not the only ones who used this formation. The Greek term literally means "log" and was used for both this line of battle and for a bone in a finger or toe. The word and its senses passed into Latin and then were adopted into English in the 16th century. These days, a "phalanx" can be any arranged mass, whether of persons, animals, or things, or a body of people organized in a particular effort.

Origin and Etymology of phalanx

Latin phalang-, phalanx, from Greek, battle line, digital bone, literally, log — more at balk

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1553

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Military Terms

bivouac, logistics, petard, salient, sally, supernumerary, tactical

PHALANX Defined for English Language Learners

phalanx

noun

Definition of phalanx for English Language Learners

: a large group of people, animals, or things often placed close together

Medical Dictionary

phalanx

noun pha·lanx \ ˈfā-ˌlaŋ(k)s, British usually ˈfal-ˌaŋ(k)s \

medical Definition of phalanx

plural phalanges \fə-ˈlan-(ˌ)jēz, fā-, ˈfā-ˌ, British usually fal-ˈan-\

: any of the digital bones of the hand or foot distal to the metacarpus or metatarsus of a vertebrate that in humans are three to each finger and toe with the exception of the thumb and big toe which have only two each