: 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
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2025
The Foundation: Traditional Search Systems Traditional search systems were built on relatively simple principles: matching keywords and ranking results based on relevance, user signals, frequency, positioning and more.
—Meghana Puvvadi, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
Jay Ginsbach, Forbes.com, 1 Apr. 2025
Harris Teeter had held the top ranking from 2016 to 2018.
—Catherine Muccigrosso, Charlotte Observer, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ranking
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Adjective
Warren is the ranking Democratic member of the Senate Banking Committee and Wyden is the ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2025
The Foundation: Traditional Search Systems Traditional search systems were built on relatively simple principles: matching keywords and ranking results based on relevance, user signals, frequency, positioning and more.
—Meghana Puvvadi, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
Noun
Spieth has four top 10’s in eight starts at TPC San Antonio and two top 10’s so far this season as the former world No. 1 (2015-16) tries to move up from No. 66 in the current world golf rankings.
—Jay Ginsbach, Forbes.com, 1 Apr. 2025
Harris Teeter had held the top ranking from 2016 to 2018.
—Catherine Muccigrosso, Charlotte Observer, 31 Mar. 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 5 Apr. 2025.
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