range (n.)

  1. an area in which something acts or operates or has power or control: the range of a supersonic jet; a piano has a greater range than the human voice; the ambit of municipal legislation; within the compass of this article; within the scope of an investigation; outside the reach of the law; in the political orbit of a world power

    [ Syn: scope , reach , orbit , compass , ambit ]

  2. the limits within which something can be effective; range of motion; he was beyond the reach of their fire

    [ Syn: reach ]

  3. a large tract of grassy open land on which livestock can graze; they used to drive the cattle across the open range every spring; he dreamed of a home on the range'

  4. a series of hills or mountains; the valley was between two ranges of hills; the plains lay just beyond the mountain range

    [ Syn: mountain range , range of mountains , chain , mountain chain , chain of mountains ]

  5. a place for shooting (firing or driving) projectiles of various kinds; the army maintains a missile range in the desert; any good golf club will have a range where you can practice'

  6. a variety of different things or activities; he answered a range of questions; he was impressed by the range and diversity of the collection'

  7. (mathematics) the set of values of the dependent variable for which a function is defined; the image of f(x) = x^2 is the set of all non-negative real numbers if the domain of the function is the set of all real numbers

    [ Syn: image , range of a function ]

  8. the limit of capability; within the compass of education

    [ Syn: compass , reach , grasp ]

  9. a kitchen appliance used for cooking food; dinner was already on the stove

    [ Syn: stove , kitchen stove , kitchen range , cooking stove ]

    range (v.)

  1. change or be different within limits; Estimates for the losses in the earthquake range as high as $2 billion; Interest rates run from 5 to 10 percent; The instruments ranged from tuba to cymbals; My students range from very bright to dull

    [ Syn: run ]

  2. move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment; The gypsies roamed the woods; roving vagabonds; the wandering Jew; The cattle roam across the prairie; the laborers drift from one town to the next; They rolled from town to town

    [ Syn: roll , wander , swan , stray , tramp , roam , cast , ramble , rove , drift , vagabond ]

  3. have a range; be capable of projecting over a certain distance, as of a gun; This gun ranges over two miles'

  4. range or extend over; occupy a certain area; The plants straddle the entire state

    [ Syn: straddle ]

  5. lay out orderly or logically in a line or as if in a line; lay out the clothes; lay out the arguments

    [ Syn: array , lay out , set out ]

  6. feed as in a meadow or pasture; the herd was grazing

    [ Syn: crop , browse , graze , pasture ]

  7. let eat; range the animals in the prairie'

  8. assign a rank or rating to; how would you rank these students?; The restaurant is rated highly in the food guide

    [ Syn: rate , rank , order , grade , place ]

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2011 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.