: 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 ZimmermanExamples of ranking in a Sentence
Adjective
Who is the ranking officer here?
the country's ranking law school
Noun
in one ranking of the best places to live, San Francisco surpassed all the other cities in the U.S.
the President's ranking in the polls is at its highest level since he took office
Recent Examples on the Web
Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
Memphis, Tennessee If your family lives in one of the lower ranking cities, you may be discouraged by the list, especially because of the privilege of being able to relocate to a top U.S. city.
—Anna Halkidis, Parents, 30 May 2025
Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 July 2025
Chinese universities have risen steadily in global rankings, with 15 schools in mainland China and Hong Kong listed among the top 100 universities on the 2025-2026 Best Global Universities Rankings, compiled by U.S. News and World Report.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 15 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for ranking
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Adjective
Load Debuts on Multiple Charts Load makes its debut on the Official Album Downloads chart this week, joining Metallica, as neither title was present on the ranking just days ago.
—Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
Memphis, Tennessee If your family lives in one of the lower ranking cities, you may be discouraged by the list, especially because of the privilege of being able to relocate to a top U.S. city.
—Anna Halkidis, Parents, 30 May 2025
Noun
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images Recently, a new all-time ranking was revealed by Bleacher Report.
—Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 July 2025
Chinese universities have risen steadily in global rankings, with 15 schools in mainland China and Hong Kong listed among the top 100 universities on the 2025-2026 Best Global Universities Rankings, compiled by U.S. News and World Report.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 15 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for ranking
Cite this Entry
“Ranking.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ranking. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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