rally

verb ral·ly \ ˈra-lē \

|Updated on: 20 Jun 2018

Examples: rally in a Sentence

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

The Bluebirds won their first four playoff games by an aggregate score of 53-2 before edging Covington Catholic in walkoff fashion in the Ninth Region final (3-2), then rallying from behind to beat South Oldham in the state round of 16 (4-2).

— james weber, Cincinnati.com, "Highlands baseball prepares for McCracken County in KHSAA State Baseball Tournament," 14 June 2018
Gabriela Domenzain, director of the Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island, was among several dozen people who rallied Thursday in nearby Warwick.

— daniella silva and alex johnson /, NBC News, "Thousands nationwide protest family separations at U.S.-Mexico border," 14 June 2018
Scott Sanders gave me the list of Hillary Clinton celebrity rallies.

— Fox News, "Critics too quick to criticize President Trump on North Korea summit?," 13 June 2018
Notes from a meeting of the Downtown Seattle Association, a group of Seattle businesses, confirm that No Tax On Jobs was trying to use the issue as a rallying call for fed up businesses.

— alana semuels, The Atlantic, "How Amazon Helped Kill a Seattle Tax On Business," 13 June 2018
After rallying to a three-year high against the dollar, the rand has lost ground as emerging-market assets face headwinds including rising U.S. rates, trade tensions and crises in economies from Argentina to Turkey.

— sam mkokeli, Bloomberg.com, "Zuma's Defiance Hampers Ramaphosa's Bid to Reform South Africa," 12 June 2018
Other big year-to-date winners in Korea’s stock market include Hyundai Cement Co. , which makes construction materials and has rallied 383%.

— steven russolillo, WSJ, "This Stock’s 500% Surge Is Almost Entirely Due to North Korea," 12 June 2018
Some people, including the Facebook page Philly Socialists, questioned the arrest and rallied in support of Segin.

— michael boren, Philly.com, "Woman trying to burn American flag arrested at Philly Pride, police say," 11 June 2018
Actor Pavel Kriz plays Adolf Hitler in scenes filmed at Zeppelin Field where Nazi rallies took place in the 1930s and early 1940s.

— paul bond, The Hollywood Reporter, "Dinesh D'Souza to Compare Trump With Lincoln in Upcoming Film," 11 June 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

Hogg was a leader of the March for Our Lives, which prompted hundreds of rallies and marches across the nation and around the world demanding safe schools and stricter gun laws.

— john bacon, USA TODAY, "Hoax SWAT call to David Hogg's house prompts school lockdown," 5 June 2018
Sanders personally, meanwhile, is heading to the Golden State on Saturday for a series of events in and around Los Angeles, including a rally and roundtable with Disneyland workers and a panel on justice reform with Patrisse Cullors and Shaun King.

— eric bradner, CNN, "2020 Insight: Bernie on the ballot in Iowa," 2 June 2018
Everyone really enjoyed the pep rally and had so much fun.

— hanna howard, Teen Vogue, "Skai Jackson Shares Why She Supports Red Nose Day," 23 May 2018
Private donors have provided money for a youth program called Roca, to send students to a gun control rally in Washington and to purchase a mobile jobs van.

— ian duncan, baltimoresun.com, "Mayor Pugh seeks broad ethics exemption to raise private money to fund Baltimore programs," 15 May 2018
Since March, the PTM has organized a series of rallies demanding an end to human-rights abuses against Pashtuns.

— sadanand dhume, WSJ, "Pakistan’s Pashtuns Take On the Army—and Terrorists," 14 June 2018
The effort is downright Trumpian – a billionaire with strong views, a blunt message, and a taste for big rallies and engaging with voters.

— linda feldmann, The Christian Science Monitor, "A campaign for impeachment that’s downright Trumpian," 13 June 2018
Raise Up also put together a series of rallies this week to drum up support for its measures.

— katie johnston, BostonGlobe.com, "How a tax on millionaires could affect the minimum wage," 13 June 2018
The day of UConn’s famous victory over Bill Bradley and Princeton in the NCAA Tournament, there was a rally and Bill overheard Jan talking about a birthday party.

— mike anthony, courant.com, "Mike Anthony: Bill Holowaty A Gentle Friend And Guiding Force For Greater Hartford Twilight Baseball League," 8 June 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 filmmakers Pedro Almodóvar and Wim Wenders are among those who have rallied to Mr. Sentsov’s cause.

— andrew e. kramer, New York Times, "Hunger Strike Creates Unwanted Backdrop for Russia During World Cup," 16 June 2018
Nearly 18 months after taking office, his accomplishments have reached something of a critical mass, with Republicans rallying around him over wins that have thrilled the party base from social conservatives to defense hawks.

— matt viser, BostonGlobe.com, "‘When are Republicans going to stand up to Trump? Never.’ Here’s why," 15 June 2018
Andrew Littlefield’s two-run double highlighted a five-run third inning for the Tigers (35-2), who rallied to knock off Boyle County 9-5 in a Saturday afternoon quarterfinal at Whitaker Bank Ballpark.

— steve bittenbender, The Courier-Journal, "Top-ranked St. X rallies past Boyle in state baseball quarterfinal," 9 June 2018
This past Earth Day, plastic was the major cry around which environmentalists rallied, and National Geographic recently launched our own campaign called 'Planet or Plastic?'.

— National Geographic, "New Game Asks Players to Clean the Ocean of Plastic," 8 June 2018
And Cox strategists think the state’s conservative base and perhaps some suburban Republicans will rally around his opposition to California’s sanctuary state policy — another position championed by Trump.

— joe garofoli, San Francisco Chronicle, "Gavin Newsom’s CA opponent is John Cox, but he’s running against Trump," 6 June 2018
Daniel told Teen Vogue the Florida tour will make stops in all 27 of the state’s congressional districts, rallying and registering people to vote.

— lucy diavolo, Teen Vogue, "Parkland Activists Cameron Kasky and Daniel Duff Explain the March for Our Lives: Road to Change Tours," 5 June 2018
That people of good will would rally behind upstanding citizens.

— steven lemongello, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Fifty years later, RFK assassination still reverberates with Central Floridians," 4 June 2018
The five were among several dozen people who rallied outside the State House in the name of social and environmental justice.

— michael dresser, baltimoresun.com, "Five arrested at Maryland State House in Poor People's Campaign protest," 4 June 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

Recent Examples of rally from the Web

Origin and Etymology of rally

rally

Definition of rally

Examples of rally in a Sentence

Recent Examples of rally from the Web

First Known Use of rally

rally Synonyms

Synonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

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

Phrases Related to RALLY

Related Phrases

RALLY Defined for English Language Learners

rally

Definition of rally for English Language Learners

RALLY Defined for Kids

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rally

Definition of rally for Students

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