Meaning

A crosspiece forming a step of a ladder; a round..

Definitions by Sense

1. A crosspiece forming a step of a ladder; a round.
2. A crosspiece between legs of a chair.
3. (figurative) A position in a hierarchy.
4. (nautical, dated) A floor timber in a ship.
5. (dated) One of the stakes of a cart; a spar; a heavy staff.
6. (engineering, dated) One of the radial handles projecting from the rim of a steering wheel.
7. (engineering, dated) One of the pins or trundles of a lantern wheel.
8. past participle of ring (only in senses related to a bell)

Example Sentences

One of its arms was a disabled flail which used to be wielded by Goodman Rigby, before his spouse worried him out of this troublesome world; the other, if I mistake not, was composed of the pudding stick and a broken rung of a chair, tied loosely together at the elbow.

the lowest rung of the society

“I’m very proud that I’ve worked on every rung of the ladder,” Ashley says. “When you go to college, you don’t want to be a senior right away—you want to be a freshman.”

With ecchoing Shouts the vaulted Chamber rung, / Belle Chuck was now the TOAST of ev'ry Tongue.

Mr. Seibels, in his testimony, said I rung him up to see about labels. He is very much mistaken. I rung him up to see about bottles.

So they rung him up, and the next day he came to me and wanted to know where that pitch was.

"I just rung him up, told him I was looking for an apartment and some work and got both of them the same day," Moe said.

[…] he passed by his gate with a decided scowl on his furrowed brow, and grunting and growling like a newly rung pig.

Word Forms

• rungs

Synonyms for rung

Related Words

When Should You Use Rung?

Use rung when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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