rung

1 of 2

past participle of ring

rung

2 of 2

noun

ˈrəŋ 

1

a

: a rounded crosspiece between the legs of a chair

b

: one of the crosspieces of a ladder

2

Scotland : a heavy staff or cudgel

3

: a spoke of a wheel

4

: a level in a hierarchy

rise a few rungs on the social scale

—H. W. Van Loon

Synonyms

Noun

• level
• position
• rank
• echelon
• ranking
• place
• standing

Examples of rung in a Sentence

Noun

He was on the bottom rung on the corporate ladder.

the top rung of society

the lowest rung of the pay scale

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

But Dan Shapero, chief operating officer at LinkedIn, isn’t ready to declare the bottom rung of the career ladder broken—at least not yet. —Massimo Marioni, Fortune, 23 June 2025

After tearing through the third rung of professional women’s tennis in 2024, the FFT awarded Boisson a wild card for that year’s French Open. —Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 19 June 2025

Almost 2,500 of those were pure purchases, and that was just enough to send the decade-old effort to the lowest rung on the Top Album Sales chart. —Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 15 June 2025

The data crunchers at LinkedIn have noticed a similar trend, prompting one of its executives to claim the bottom rung of the career ladder was breaking. —Mike Burbach, Twin Cities, 11 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English hrung crossbar; akin to Goth hrunga staff and perhaps to Old English hring ring — more at ring

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Phrases Containing rung

• get/have one's bell rung

Rhymes for rung

• bling
• bung
• clung
• dung
• flung
• fung
• hung
• lung
• slung
• sprung
• strung
• stung

Kids Definition

rung

1 of 2

past participle of ring entry 3

rung

2 of 2 noun

ˈrəŋ 

: a rounded part placed as a crosspiece between the legs of a chair

also : one of the crosspieces of a ladder

Medical Definition

rung

past part of ring