rank and file noun 2rank-and-file adjective 1 noun2 •Enlisted soldiers in a military organization, as would be arrayed in a grid pattern with ranks and files. •The members of an organization, community, etc. who are not in leadership positions.The executives attend meetings in exotic locations while the rank and file stays at headquarters doing the bulk of the work. rank-and-file adjective1 •Belonging or pertaining to the rank and file.The morale of the rank-and-file Highland railwaymen has remained remarkably high, in view of the extent to which the London press and many an English M.P. have already discarded their railways. — 1962
