ranking

UK/ˈɹæn.kɪŋ/US/ˈɹæŋ.kɪŋ/

nounC1Common in everyday speech and writing · #7,190 of 15,258mostly written

Other forms: rankings

A ranking is a position in an ordered list of the best. World ranking, drop down the rankings, top of the ranking.

In sport the ranking is calculated from results over a rolling period rather than from the last event, which is why a champion can still be second. As an adjective it means senior, as in the ranking officer present.

Definitions of ranking

1nounrankingA position in an ordered list of the best.C1
“After winning the tournament, she rose to third in the world ranking.”

ranking is a position.

Practise this word

ranking in the wild

College and university rankings order higher education institutions based on various criteria, with factors differing depending on the specific ranking system.
College and university rankings
In addition to ranking entire institutions, specific programs, departments, and schools can be ranked.
College and university rankings
As of July 2026, the rankings were led by Spain.
FIFA Men's World Ranking
Since 16 August 2018, the ranking system has adopted the Elo rating system used in chess and Go.
FIFA Men's World Ranking
The rankings were introduced in 2003, with the first rankings published on 16 July of that year.
FIFA Women's World Ranking

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

From Project Gutenberg, public domain. These sentences are from real books, shown to illustrate the word at work.

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