phalanx

[ fey-langks, fal-angks ]

/ ˈfeɪ læŋks, ˈfæl æŋks /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR phalanx ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural pha·lanx·es or for 7, pha·lan·ges [fuh-lan-jeez] /fəˈlæn dʒiz/.

(in ancient Greece) a group of heavily armed infantry formed in ranks and files close and deep, with shields joined and long spears overlapping.

any body of troops in close array.

a number of individuals, especially persons united for a common purpose.

a compact or closely massed body of persons, animals, or things.

Military. (initial capital letter) a radar-controlled U.S. Navy 20mm Gatling-type gun deployed on ships as a last line of defense against antiship cruise missiles.

(in Fourierism) a group of about 1800 persons, living together and holding their property in common.

Anatomy, Zoology. any of the bones of the fingers or toes.

verb (used without object)

Printing. to arrange the distribution of work in a shop as evenly as possible.

Origin of phalanx

1545–55; < Latin < Greek phálanx military formation, bone of finger or toe, wooden roller

Words nearby phalanx

phalanges, phalangist, phalansterian, phalansterianism, phalanstery, phalanx, phalarope, phalera, phallectomy, phallic, phallic phase

Example sentences from the Web for phalanx

A phalanx of cops formed behind them as they started across.

Eric Garner Was Just a Number to Them |Michael Daly |December 5, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
A phalanx of money-changers runs between the shops, converting Pakistani rupees to Afghan afghanis to U.S. dollars on the fly.

Heart of Darkness: Into Afghanistan’s Taliban Valley |Matt Trevithick, Daniel Seckman |November 15, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
I was among more than a hundred protestors from Occupy L.A., and facing a phalanx of police with riot equipment.

A Year On: Occupy L.A. And God |Aryeh Cohen |September 28, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
Their carefully scripted words, examined beforehand no doubt by a phalanx of spinmeisters, were barely above a monotone.

Buzz Bissinger: Ban Penn State Football! |Buzz Bissinger |July 13, 2012 |DAILY BEAST

Holmes, aided by a phalanx of legal advisers, made several choices that will be hard for Cruise to counter, experts agree.

Why Katie Holmes May Win Custody |Nancy Hass |July 7, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
Our housekeeping is not satisfactory to us, but perhaps a phalanx, a community, might be.

Essays, Second Series |Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Macedonian phalanx is considered one of the most extraordinary military contrivances of ancient times.

Pyrrhus |Jacob Abbott
The moment a breach had91 been made in a Macedonian or Swiss phalanx the great length of their spears became their ruin.

The Art of War in the Middle Ages A.D. 378-1515 |C. W. C. Oman
We find nothing after this in the Phalanx about this Association.

History of American Socialisms |John Humphrey Noyes
They will be an impediment instead of an assistance to the progressive movement of a Phalanx.

History of American Socialisms |John Humphrey Noyes

British Dictionary definitions for phalanx

phalanx

/ (ˈfælæŋks) /

noun plural phalanxes or phalanges (fæˈlændʒiːz)

an ancient Greek and Macedonian battle formation of hoplites presenting long spears from behind a wall of overlapping shields

any closely ranked unit or mass of people the police formed a phalanx to protect the embassy

a number of people united for a common purpose

(in Fourierism) a group of approximately 1800 persons forming a commune in which all property is collectively owned

anatomy any of the bones of the fingers or toes Related adjective: phalangeal

botany

a bundle of stamens, joined together by their stalks (filaments)
a form of vegetative spread in which the advance is on a broad front, as in the common reedCompare guerrilla

Word Origin for phalanx

C16: via Latin from Greek: infantry formation in close ranks, bone of finger or toe

Medical definitions for phalanx

phalanx

[ fā′lăngks′, făl′ăngks′ ]

n. pl. pha•lanx•es

Any of the long bones of the fingers or toes, numbering 14 for each hand or foot: two for the thumb or big toe, and three each for the other four digits.

Scientific definitions for phalanx

phalanx

[ fā′lăngks′ ]

Plural phalanges (fə-lăn′jēz)

Any of the small bones of the fingers or toes in humans or the digits of many other vertebrates.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

phalanx