rally

verb ral·ly \ ˈra-lē \

Updated on: 23 May 2018

Definition of rally

rallied; rallying

transitive verb

1 a : to muster for a common purpose

b : to recall to order

2 a : to arouse for action

b : to rouse from depression or weakness

intransitive verb

1 : to come together again to renew an effort

2 : to join in a common cause

3 : recover, rebound

rallied briefly from his illness

4 : to engage in a rally

Recent Examples of rally from the Web

While Brent has rallied on political risks, supply bottlenecks in the U.S. are deepening WTI's discount, Pedersen said.

— heesu lee and alex longley, Houston Chronicle, "Oil rides best weekly winning streak since 2011," 18 May 2018
My history with The County Line goes back to the original shop in Austin, and my memories rally around big beef ribs that bring out the Flintstone in all of us.

— mike sutter, San Antonio Express-News, "52 Weeks of BBQ: The County Line," 18 May 2018
Kellyn was the last big strategic and challenge threat left, the only person with a chance of rallying Angela and Donathan.

— stephen fishbach, PEOPLE.com, "Survivor: A Struggle to Balance Friendship and Strategy Leads to a Game-Losing Misplay," 16 May 2018
Hundreds packed public budget forums in recent weeks to protest those ideas, with some activists saying the Police Bureau had enough officers and parks supporters and senior citizens rallying to keep the community centers open.

— gordon r. friedman, OregonLive.com, "Portland council, with business tax hike, OK's $5.1 billion budget," 16 May 2018
Play #2 was incorrectly ruled out, and not allowed to be replayed because the Braves lost the challenge after Play #1 pic.twitter.com/UZAIF7LmH7 The Braves ended up losing, 3-2, after the Cubs rallied in the ninth inning.

— andrew joseph, For The Win, "Braves fans flooded MLB's Twitter after controversial replay ruling erased a run," 16 May 2018
Recent teacher rallies and strikes in Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, Oklahoma and West Virginia have put a spotlight on teacher pay and benefits.

— david carrig, USA TODAY, "How generous are teacher benefits and do they make up for lower pay?," 16 May 2018
Terrorism experts warned of more attacks, with extremists rallying followers ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins this week.

— ben otto and i made sentana, WSJ, "Family of Suicide Bombers Attacks Churches in Indonesia," 13 May 2018
Rupe stuck around long enough to get the win when UCSD rallied with six runs on six hits in the fifth inning for a 6-3 lead.

— kirk kenney, sandiegouniontribune.com, "UC San Diego playing for CCAA Tournament title after 13-5 victory over CS Monterey Bay," 11 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of rally

French rallier, from Old French ralier, from re- + alier to unite — more at ally

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1599

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

rally

noun

Definition of rally

plural rallies

1 a : a mustering of scattered forces to renew an effort

b : a summoning up of strength or courage after weakness or dejection

c : a recovery of price after a decline

d : a renewed offensive

2 : a mass meeting intended to arouse group enthusiasm

3 : a series of shots interchanged between players (as in tennis) before a point is won

4 or less commonly rallye

[French rallye, from English ¹rally]

: an automobile competition using public roads and ordinary traffic rules with the object of maintaining a specified average speed between checkpoints over a route unknown to the participants until the start of the event

See rally defined for English-language learners

Examples of rally in a Sentence

Supporters held a rally for the candidate.
Protesters staged an antiwar rally.
Stock prices are up after the dollar's rally yesterday.

Recent Examples of rally from the Web

Performers at the opening rally include Ty Dolla $ign, YG, Vic Mensa, and Common, and the Jabbawockeez dance troupe will lead a class on May 27.

— brittany martin, Los Angeles Magazine, "Musicians, Athletes, and Activists are Gathering for a 10-Day Festival for Mental Health," 17 May 2018
At Tuesday’s rally, Nasir Almasri, a 25-year-old Palestinian-American MIT graduate student, was even more blunt in his criticism.

— danny mcdonald and margeaux sippell, BostonGlobe.com, "In Boston, hundreds rally for Palestine, against Israel and the US," 16 May 2018
The movie’s penultimate image is a photo of Heather Heyer, the woman killed last August in Charlottesville, Va., when a car plowed into a group of counter-protestors at a white-supremacist rally.

— stephanie zacharek, Time, "Cannes Review: Spike Lee's BlackKklansman Is the Movie We Need Now—And It's Funny, Too," 15 May 2018
Luke Amphlett, a teacher at Burbank High School, said at a union rally outside the district’s Burnet Center south of downtown where the board was preparing to meet.

— alia malik, San Antonio Express-News, "SAISD to lay off 132 teachers in all," 14 May 2018
Actor and activist Danny Glover will be one of the speakers at a Sacramento rally Monday kicking off a six-week national campaign aimed at revamping voting laws and bringing attention to poverty and the environment.

— bob shallit, sacbee, "Actor Danny Glover to speak at Sacramento rally | The Sacramento Bee," 13 May 2018
The video showed Balogun at a March 2015 rally in Austin, Texas, protesting law enforcement.

— anne branigin, The Root, "Is This the 1st Victim of COINTELPRO 2.0? Jailed ‘Black Identity Extremist’ Speaks Out," 11 May 2018
The village was not even aware it had been listed on the map until fallout from the wake of fatal violence at a rally held by white nationalists in Charlottesville, Va., last August brought the map to the forefront.

— jim newton, Lake County News-Sun, "Gurnee removed from Southern Poverty Law Center hate map: 'There was no evidence'," 11 May 2018
President Donald Trump did not comment on the controversy created by his staffer, nor did Vice President Mike Pence, who last week in Tempe asked hundreds gathered at a pro-Donald Trump rally to keep McCain in their thoughts and prayers.

— yvonne wingett sanchez, azcentral, "Here's who's defending John McCain after White House aide's 'dying' remark — and who isn't," 11 May 2018

First Known Use of rally

1646

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

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rally Synonyms

rally

verb

Definition of rally

rallied; rallying

transitive verb

: to attack with raillery : banter

Recent Examples of rally from the Web

The Raiders rallied back from an 8-4 deficit Monday to down TVL rival Hopkinton, 11-10, thanks in part to five goals and an assist from their sophomore attack.

— nate weitzer, BostonGlobe.com, "Wayland hopes to build off statement win over L-S," 21 May 2018
Elgin rallied to win Game 2 with three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, then used a nine-run third to win 16-4 in Game 3 and take their Region III-5A semifinal playoff series in three games Saturday at Magnolia West.

— jason mcdaniel, Houston Chronicle, "Elgin rallies to defeat Dayton, advances to regional finals," 19 May 2018
The Rams rallied for a 3-2 lead before the game was called after five complete innings.

— j.c. carnahan, OrlandoSentinel.com, "High school baseball playoff games rained out," 18 May 2018
Bel Air, however, rallied with four goals in the final 2:51 to tie it at the half.

— katherine dunn, baltimoresun.com, "Defending state champion Bel Air girls lacrosse overcomes Towson's best shot, 14-13, for region title," 17 May 2018
Republicans immediately rallied around nominee Mike Braun while Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly’s allies stepped in to start defining the opposition.

— maureen groppe, Indianapolis Star, "Sick of Braun vs. Donnelly Senate ads? Get ready for long, hot summer," 17 May 2018
Some rallied behind Time’s classification of this tweet.

— margaret lin, Curbed, "The avocado toast home ownership meme, explained," 15 May 2018
Also, defending champion Sweden rallied from a goal down to edge Russia 3-1 in a battle for top spot in Group A in Copenhagen.

— karel janicek, chicagotribune.com, "Patrick Kane scores but U.S. falls to Finland 6-2 at hockey worlds," 15 May 2018
In fact, a rallying dollar may help explain why global growth has already faltered this year.

— greg ip, WSJ, "In a Dollarized World, a Rising Dollar Spells Pain," 9 May 2018

Origin and Etymology of rally

French railler to mock, rally — more at rail

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1668

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Financial Definition of RALLY

rally

noun

What It Is

A rally is a period of hours, days, weeks, months, or sometimes years during which securities prices consistently rise.

How It Works

Identifying and measuring rallies is both art and science. Of course, different market sectors may experience rallies at different times.

The causes and characteristics of rallies vary, but most financial theorists agree that economic cycles and investor sentiment both play a role in the creation and momentum of rallies. In general, information about a strong or strengthening economy, indicated by high employment, high disposable income, low inflation and high business profits usually ushers in a rally. The existence of several new trading highs for well-known companies also indicates a rally is occurring. It is important to note that government involvement affects rallies: Changing the federal funds rate or tax rates indirectly encourages economic expansion or contraction.

Rising investor confidence also indicates a rally, and it is perhaps more powerful than any economic indicator because when investors believe something is going to happen (a rally, for example), they tend to take action (purchasing shares in order to profit from expected price increases) that actually turn expectations into reality. Although it is an objective concept, investor sentiment shows through in mathematical measurements such as the put/call ratio, the advance/decline line, IPO activity, and the amount of outstanding margin debt.

As investors take profits or react to bad news or negative indicators, rallies generally unravel over time.

Why It Matters

Rallies usually present a multitude of moneymaking opportunities for investors because prices are generally rising across the board. But rallies don’t last forever, and they don’t always give advance notice of their arrival, so the investor must know when to buy and when to sell to maximize his or her profits. This means the investor must attempt to "time the market" or gauge when a rally has begun and when it is ending.

Analysts spend thousands of hours trying to mathematically determine what will trigger the next rally and how long it will last. Technical analysis is especially prevalent in this effort, although less sophisticated indicators such as hemline fashions or the NFL division of the latest Super Bowl winner also provide fodder for such predictions. This in turn can sometimes lead to speculation that a rally is just around the corner, which can then become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Source: Investing Answers

RALLY Defined for English Language Learners

rally

noun

Definition of rally for English Language Learners

: a public meeting to support or oppose someone or something
finance : an increase in price or value after a decrease in price or value
sports : an occurrence in which a team or player that has been behind or playing badly begins to play well

RALLY Defined for Kids

rally

verb ral·ly \ ˈra-lē \

Definition of rally for Students

rallied; rallying

1 : to bring or come together for a common purpose Supporters rallied at the capitol building.

2 : to publicly support or oppose

The whole school rallied behind the principal.

3 : to rouse from low spirits or weakness

The patient rallied and survived.

The team rallied to win the game.

rally

noun

Definition of rally for Students

plural rallies

1 : a sudden improvement in performance or condition

The team's late rally helped them win.

2 : a big meeting held to rouse enthusiasm

Learn More about rally

See words that rhyme with rally Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for rally Spanish Central: Translation of rally Nglish: Translation of rally for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of rally for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about rally

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rally

Definition of rally

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Origin and Etymology of rally

rally

Definition of rally

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Recent Examples of rally from the Web

First Known Use of rally

rally Synonyms

Synonyms

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rally

Definition of rally

Recent Examples of rally from the Web

Origin and Etymology of rally

Financial Definition of RALLY

What It Is

How It Works

Why It Matters

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RALLY Defined for English Language Learners

rally

Definition of rally for English Language Learners

RALLY Defined for Kids

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Definition of rally for Students

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