: having a high position: such as
a
: of the highest rank
the ranking officer
b
: being next to the chairman in seniority
ranking committee member
plural rankings
: position, order, or standing within a group : rank
The figures, compiled from federal surveys and a tourism research concern, earned New York City a second-place ranking nationwide as a destination for United States travelers, pushing Las Vegas down to the No. 3 spot.—
Eric Lipton
Eric Lipton… if a site is linked to by sites of high quality and popularity, those links can raise the ranking of the first site.—Elizabeth Stone
Elizabeth StonePlaying primarily in regional events, she earned a ranking of No. 151, high enough to make the qualifying field at Roland Garros.—L. Jon Wertheim
L. Jon Wertheim… he had the lowest interception rate and the highest ranking of any NFL quarterback …—Paul Zimmerman
Paul Zimmerman
Examples of ranking in a Sentence
Adjective
Who is the ranking officer here?
the country's ranking law school
Recent Examples on the WebAlexander Smith, NBC News, 20 Feb. 2024
Google and its treatment of pages is the primary force behind what does and doesn't count as SEO, and to say Google's guidelines reduce subjective page quality is a strike against Google's entire ranking algorithm.
—Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 19 Jan. 2024
Issa would be the highest ranking Hamas leader to have been killed in Gaza since the war began in October.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 19 Mar. 2024
What’s more, Los Angeles represents the urban area with the greatest stormwater runoff potential in the West, ranking 19th in the country.
—Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024
In other words, the military came to the realization that the intangible how (the leadership skills that were demonstrated by the highest ranking officers), were perhaps just as necessary to the success of its operations as were the physical combat skills.
—Rachel Wells, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024
Wisconsin's two largest cities ranked in the top half of the 100 in 2023, with Madison in sixth and Milwaukee ranking 43rd.
—Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 15 Jan. 2024
The ranking details which tunes are reaching the largest audience at radio stations across the U.S. that focus on a style of pop called adult pop, which essentially means the tunes are aimed at a more mature listener.
—Hugh McIntyre, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
Adam Smith, who is the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee said on Friday, Biden does not have the normal strength to go out there and campaign.
—CBS News, 11 Feb. 2024
Kevin Rutherford, Billboard, 17 Apr. 2024
The company uses social media analytics including shares and rankings to create an index of the top global rooftop bars.
—Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 16 Apr. 2024
YouTube was once again the top individual streaming service with 9.7 percent of all TV use — the largest for any single streamer since Nielsen began its Gauge rankings in May 2021.
—Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Apr. 2024
Through a lottery and ranking process that favors teams with less-than-stellar records (more on that in a minute), the draft aims to bring parity to the league so that struggling teams have a chance to bolster their rosters with the best new players.
—Jenny McCoy, SELF, 15 Apr. 2024
To maintain eligibility, students must provide annual activity logs and performance portfolios, including rankings and awards, that will be reviewed by some of the program’s administrators.
—Annika Bahnsen, Orange County Register, 14 Apr. 2024
Under Trong, Vietnam’s corruption’s ranking has steadily improved, leading to a glut of foreign direct investment.
—Charlie Campbell, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
Arizona ranked behind Montana, Connecticut, Maine, Oklahoma, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Texas, Florida and Tennessee, with the last two having the same percentage at 38% and, thus, the same ranking.
—The Arizona Republic, 11 Apr. 2024
Our law school has climbed in the rankings faster than any law school in U.S. history.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Apr. 2024
Adjective
Democracy has been on the slide since 2016, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, a London research group whose yearly ranking system has become a gold standard.
—Alexander Smith, NBC News, 20 Feb. 2024
Google and its treatment of pages is the primary force behind what does and doesn't count as SEO, and to say Google's guidelines reduce subjective page quality is a strike against Google's entire ranking algorithm.
—Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 19 Jan. 2024
Issa would be the highest ranking Hamas leader to have been killed in Gaza since the war began in October.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 19 Mar. 2024
What’s more, Los Angeles represents the urban area with the greatest stormwater runoff potential in the West, ranking 19th in the country.
—Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024
In other words, the military came to the realization that the intangible how (the leadership skills that were demonstrated by the highest ranking officers), were perhaps just as necessary to the success of its operations as were the physical combat skills.
—Rachel Wells, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024
Wisconsin's two largest cities ranked in the top half of the 100 in 2023, with Madison in sixth and Milwaukee ranking 43rd.
—Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 15 Jan. 2024
The ranking details which tunes are reaching the largest audience at radio stations across the U.S. that focus on a style of pop called adult pop, which essentially means the tunes are aimed at a more mature listener.
—Hugh McIntyre, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
Adam Smith, who is the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee said on Friday, Biden does not have the normal strength to go out there and campaign.
—CBS News, 11 Feb. 2024
Noun
The song becomes Soundgarden’s first No. 1 on the ranking, which began in 2020.
—Kevin Rutherford, Billboard, 17 Apr. 2024
The company uses social media analytics including shares and rankings to create an index of the top global rooftop bars.
—Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 16 Apr. 2024
YouTube was once again the top individual streaming service with 9.7 percent of all TV use — the largest for any single streamer since Nielsen began its Gauge rankings in May 2021.
—Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Apr. 2024
Through a lottery and ranking process that favors teams with less-than-stellar records (more on that in a minute), the draft aims to bring parity to the league so that struggling teams have a chance to bolster their rosters with the best new players.
—Jenny McCoy, SELF, 15 Apr. 2024
To maintain eligibility, students must provide annual activity logs and performance portfolios, including rankings and awards, that will be reviewed by some of the program’s administrators.
—Annika Bahnsen, Orange County Register, 14 Apr. 2024
Under Trong, Vietnam’s corruption’s ranking has steadily improved, leading to a glut of foreign direct investment.
—Charlie Campbell, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
Arizona ranked behind Montana, Connecticut, Maine, Oklahoma, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Texas, Florida and Tennessee, with the last two having the same percentage at 38% and, thus, the same ranking.
—The Arizona Republic, 11 Apr. 2024
Our law school has climbed in the rankings faster than any law school in U.S. history.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ranking.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near ranking
Cite this Entry
“Ranking.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ranking. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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