rally

verb (1)

ral·ly | \ ˈra-lē

rallied; rallying

Definition of rally

(Entry 1 of 3)

transitive verb

1a : to muster for a common purpose

b : to recall to order

2a : 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

rally

noun

plural rallies

Definition of rally (Entry 2 of 3)

1a : 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

rally

verb (2)

rallied; rallying

Definition of rally (Entry 3 of 3)

transitive verb

: to attack with raillery : banter

Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about rally

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Examples of rally in a Sentence

Noun

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

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

His sailors and Marines rallied, and Jones ended up capturing the Serapis—which came in handy when Bonhomme Richard sank the next day. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The Shipwreck of One of America’s First Warships Was Just Found," 12 Dec. 2018 Following her death, Marie Colvin became a rallying point for foreign correspondents in a media landscape where on-the-ground reporting was increasingly devalued. — Lauren Hubbard, Town & Country, "The True Story of Marie Colvin, the Foreign Correspondent Who Inspired the Film A Private War," 2 Nov. 2018 Long a French colony, Guiana rallied behind Charles de Gaulle and Free France during World War II. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "As the SpaceX steamroller surges, European rocket industry vows to resist," 20 July 2018 Miami rallied from a two-run deficit to take a 3-2 lead in the seventh, and in the most unexpected way possible. — Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Marlins 4, Brewers 3 (10 innings): Hader surrenders back-to-back homers; offense struggles," 9 July 2018 Stirring appeals helped usher the US into the Spanish-American War, rallied volunteers to the slaughters of World War I, and – reignited by Pearl Harbor – produced long lines at enlistment offices for World War II. — Doug Struck, The Christian Science Monitor, "As Americans celebrate Independence Day, what does it mean to be a patriot?," 2 July 2018 In one upstate New York district, Democratic county groups originally rallied around progressive activist Dana Balter, but in April veteran Juanita Perez Williams entered the race at the urging of the national party, angering local organizers. — Arit John, Bloomberg.com, "New York Voters to Settle Intra-Party Fights for November Ballot," 26 June 2018 Several hundred people rallied inside the student center where the incident took place and posted on social media using the hashtag #NotMyLoyola. — Ryan Smith, Chicago Reader, "Loyola clears campus police of using excessive force against students of color in viral video," 21 June 2018 Second, small communities rally round their newspapers in ways that bigger ones do not, with rates of loyalty twice that of readers of national or regional papers, according to research by Penelope Muse Abernathy of UNC. — The Economist, "Small-town American newspapers are surprisingly resilient," 21 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The rally, featuring nearly 15 advocacy and grassroots groups from across the state, was coordinated ahead of Trump’s prime-time announcement Monday. — Alison Kuznitz, courant.com, "Abortion, Women's Rights Activists Rally In New Haven Against Supreme Court Nominee," 10 July 2018 Before Wednesday’s rally, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were on the brink of a bear market. — Paul Kiernan, WSJ, "Jerome Powell Is ‘100% Safe’ at Fed, Trump Economic Adviser Says," 26 Dec. 2018 There were more than 11,000 attendees at that particular rally, and the Hart family were among them. — Glamour, "Broken Harts, Episode 3: 'The Perfect People'," 18 Dec. 2018 Following DeAndre's moment on stage, everyone turned to Adam to hear him rally for DeAndre—but his coach took the time to vouch for Reagan, instead. — Jennifer Aldrich, Country Living, "Everything Adam Levine Said on 'The Voice' That Sparked Outrage Over Reagan Strange," 5 Dec. 2018 So Shirley, a women’s economic development expert, started a local chapter of Indivisible, an anti-Trump resistance group, and began organizing protests and rallies. — Rebecca Nelson, Marie Claire, "Party Crashers: These Female Candidates Are Shaking Up The Midterms," 2 Nov. 2018 But for simpler games like Pong, AI agents prefer to play long rallies rather than actually beat their opponents. — James Vincent, The Verge, "How teaching AI to be curious helps machines learn for themselves," 1 Nov. 2018 Because there’s so much coverage of like a Trump rally and ... — Eric Johnson, Recode, "The media is responsible for President Trump and it still hasn’t learned from 2016, says Rolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi," 18 Oct. 2018 The Tampa Bay Times notes that Ana rose to prominence by speaking out on Miami Cuban radio shows, organizing political rallies, and working with a young Jeb Bush to help Nicaraguan immigrants stay in the U.S. — Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, "What to Know About 'The View' Co-Host Ana Navarro Before Watching the Show Again," 9 Nov. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

At the same time, many New York state politicians have rallied to stop the headquarters from moving into Long Island City. — Makena Kelly, The Verge, "New York senators ominously quiet after Amazon deal," 14 Nov. 2018 In the bottom of the ninth, Tony Watson was warming up in case the Giants were able to rally one last time. — Ann Killion, SFChronicle.com, "Giants’ search for a closer is wide open," 28 June 2018 In the months since the shooting, the students have rallied hundreds of thousands across the country to march for gun reform, including a massive turnout in Washington, D.C., in March. — Kelli Kennedy, The Christian Science Monitor, "Parkland students to travel cross-country to register young voters," 5 June 2018 That deficit left more than enough room for the Huskies to rally, but the Ramblers scored four straight goals to open the third quarter. — Steve Reaven, Naperville Sun, "Huskies hold heads high: Naperville North loses to Loyola in state semifinals, will play for third place in lacrosse," 31 May 2018 In the wake of the news of Selena's emotional breakdown, celebrities have been rallying behind the singer. — Tamara Fuentes, Seventeen, "Everything We Know About Selena Gomez's Emotional Breakdown," 12 Oct. 2018 Collins voted last month to preserve funding for Planned Parenthood a day after the same organization rallied in Washington to encourage her to vote against Kavanaugh. — Andrew O'reilly | Fox News, Fox News, "Ahead of Kavanaugh confirmation vote, Sen. Collins receives 3,000 hangers from pro-choice activists," 2 Oct. 2018 But my infection notifier warns me the Bloodsuckers are already rallying. — Steven Strom, Ars Technica, "Two years later, Darkest Dungeon is completely different for the better," 22 July 2018 And for more than 30 years, the nearly century-old bridge has been crumbling, even as residents rallied endlessly to save their de facto Main Street and as city agencies mulled razing the structure. — Sarah Maslin Nir, New York Times, "A Bridge, the Rickety Heart of Kew Gardens, Gets a Reprieve," 12 July 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.

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Last Updated

15 Jan 2019

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Time Traveler for rally

The first known use of rally was in 1599

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More Definitions for rally

rally

noun

Financial Definition of rally

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

noun