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- DictionaryRange/rānj/
noun
- 1. the area of variation between upper and lower limits on a particular scale: "the cost is thought to be in the range of $1-5 million a day" Similar spanscopecompassradiusscalegamutreachsweepextentareafieldorbitambitprovincerealmdomainhorizonlatitudelimitsboundsconfinesparametersvaryfluctuatedifferextendstretchreachcovergorunpass
- ▪ the scope of a person's knowledge or abilities: "he gave some indication of his range"
- ▪ the compass of a person's voice or a musical instrument: "she was gifted with an incredible vocal range"
- ▪ the extent of time covered by something such as a forecast.
- ▪ the area or extent covered by or included in something: "an introductory guide to the range of debate this issue has generated"
- ▪ the set of values that a given function can take as its argument varies.
- 2. a set of different things of the same general type: "the area offers a wide range of activities for the tourist" Similar assortmentvarietydiversitymixturecollectionarraysetselectionchoicepickkindsorttypeclassrankordergenusspecies
- 3. the distance within which something can be reached or perceived: "something lurked just beyond her range of vision"
- ▪ the maximum distance to which a gun will shoot or over which a missile will travel: "these rockets have a range of 30 to 40 miles"
- ▪ the maximum distance at which a radio transmission can be effectively received: "planets within radio range of Earth"
- ▪ the distance that can be covered by a vehicle or aircraft without refueling: "the vans have a range of 125 miles"
- ▪ the distance between a camera and the subject to be photographed: "handheld shots taken at extreme telephoto ranges can be pretty wobbly affairs"
- ▪ the horizontal direction and length of a survey line determined by at least two fixed points.
- 4. a line or series of mountains or hills: "the coastal ranges of the northwest" Similar rowchainsierracordilleraridgemassiflinefilerankstringseries
- ▪ a series of townships extending north and south parallel to the principal meridian of a survey. US
- ▪ a line defined by landmarks or beacons, used to locate something offshore, especially a navigable channel or a hazard.
- 5. a large area of open land for grazing or hunting: "on dude ranches, tourists put on crisp new western gear to ride the range" Similar pasturepasturagepasturelandgrassgrasslandgrazing landleypaddockcroftliterary:leameadgreenswardswardshielingbentbawnrunveldalpbocagepotrero
- ▪ an area of land or sea used as a testing ground for military equipment: "the cost of dealing with unexploded shells and bombs on former military ranges"
- ▪ an open or enclosed area with targets for shooting practice: "he went down to the ranges to practice shooting"
- ▪ the area over which a plant or animal is distributed: "the chimpanzee extensively overlaps the gorilla in its forest range"
- 6. an electric or gas stove with several burners and one or more ovens: "a wood-burning kitchen range" Similar stovecooking stovekitchen stovetrademark:Aga
- 7. a course of masonry extending from end to end at one height.
- ▪ a row of buildings.
- 8. the direction or position in which something lies: archaic "the range of the hills and valleys is nearly from north to south"
verb
- 1. vary or extend between specified limits: "patients whose ages ranged from 13 to 25 years" Similar varyfluctuatedifferextendstretchreachcovergorunpass
- 2. place or arrange in a row or rows or in a specified order or manner: "a table with half a dozen chairs ranged around it" Similar line upaligndraw upput/set in orderorderplacepositionarrangedisposeset outarrayrank
- ▪ run or extend in a line in a particular direction: "he regularly came to the benches that ranged along the path"
- 3. place oneself or be placed in opposition to (a person or group): British "they were no match for the overwhelming forces ranged against them"
- 4. (of a person or animal) travel or wander over a wide area: "patrols ranged thousands of miles deep into enemy territory" Similar roamrovetraversetraveljourneywanderstraydriftramblemeanderamblestrolltraipsewalkhiketrekbackpackrare:peregrinate
- ▪ (of a person's eyes) pass from one person or thing to another: "his eyes ranged over them"
- ▪ (of something written or spoken) cover or embrace a wide number of different topics: "tutorials ranged over a variety of subjects"
- 5. obtain the range of a target by adjustment after firing past it or short of it, or by the use of radar or laser equipment: "radar-type transmissions which appeared to be ranging on our convoys"
- ▪ (of a projectile) cover a specified distance.
- ▪ (of a gun) send a projectile over a specified distance.
Word Origin Middle English (in the sense ‘line of people or animals’): from Old French range ‘row, rank’, from rangier ‘put in order’, from rang ‘rank’. Early usage also included the notion of ‘movement over an area’.
Scrabble Points: 6
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