rally1
/ˈrali
/verb (rallies, rallying, rallied) [no object]
1(Of troops) come together again in order to continue fighting after a defeat or dispersion: De Montfort’s troops rallied and drove back the king’s infantry...
- He lost half of his new fleet; but his troops rallied and in turn defeated the rebels.
- Freeman's troops rallied, held the Chinese off and miraculously survived.
- But the French Army rallied, the enemy was driven back and the borders of Revolutionary France began to expand.
Synonyms
reassemble, regroup, re-form, reunite, gather together again, get together again;
round up
1.1 [with object] Bring together (forces) again in order to continue fighting: the king escaped to Perth to rally his own forces...
- Edmund rallied his forces, and for a little while it seemed that the Danes might still be driven back.
- He himself appeared in Sukhumi in a steel helmet, trying to rally his forces at the last moment, and only escaped by the skin of his teeth.
- Instead, he had sent Afan on to rally the forces left in Nottingham to move out and meet Arthur in battle once more.
Synonyms
muster, marshal, mobilize, raise, call up, call to arms, recruit, enlist, conscript, draft;
assemble, bring together, call together, summon, gather, gather together, round up, mass, collect
formal convoke
archaic levy
1.2Assemble in a mass meeting: up to 50,000 people rallied in the city centre...
- In the United States, demonstrators rallied in several cities, both for and against the war.
- The protesters, who rallied near the Assembly building in downtown San Jose, confronted hundreds of police.
- Hundreds of striking council workers rallied at a mass meeting in York today as their actions hit city centre tourists, shoppers and motorists.
Synonyms
gather, accumulate, collect, assemble, amass, muster, marshal, organize, round up, garner, harvest;
get up, raise, mobilize, whip up
1.3Bring or come together in order to support a person or cause: [no object, with infinitive]: colleagues rallied round to help Ann [with object]: a series of meetings to rally support for the union...
- Omar's speech was a desperate move to rally what little support he had left.
- We will be out in force to make sure people know what's going on and rallying even more support.
- He rallied great popular support for his scheme.
Synonyms
come/get together, band together, assemble, group, join, join together, join forces, link (up), combine, unite, ally, collaborate, cooperate, work together, act together, pull together
2Recover or cause to recover in health, spirits, or poise: [no object]: he floundered for a moment, then rallied again [with object]: they rallied her with a drink
Synonyms
recover, improve, get better, pick up, revive, come back, make a comeback, rebound, bounce back, perk up, look up, take a turn for the better, turn the/a corner, be given a new lease of life, take on a new lease of life;
emerge from something, get over something, shake something off
informal come up smiling
2.1(Of share, currency, or commodity prices) increase after a fall: prices of metals have rallied...
- However, the shares rallied later in the day as the market digested the news.
- HP shares had rallied on the early news of layoffs, but they're slightly slower today.
- If we are correct, and at some future date the price of gold rallies like the yen did, there will be financial turmoil.
3Drive in a rally: we’re driving off to Spain to rally [with object]: he has raced and rallied MGBs for thirty years...
- However, Gareth has rallied in Ireland in recent times, so he is certainly familiar with pace note asphalt rallies.
- He has been rallying for six years and entered the 2004 Safari Rally.
- ‘We just keep finding the limit,’ said Mark on Friday as he rallied on the island for the first time.
noun (plural rallies)
1A mass meeting of people making a political protest or showing support for a cause: a banned nationalist rally...
- For example, service members as well as government civilians can attend political meetings or rallies.
- My activities went from merely attending meetings, rallies, and protests to organizing them.
- Hundreds of people are expected to turn out today for a mass rally in support of efforts to save the historic Duke of Wellington's Regiment.
Synonyms
meeting, mass meeting, gathering, assembly, tweetup;
demonstration, march, protest march, parade
informal get-together, demo
1.1An open-air event for people who own a particular kind of vehicle: a traction engine rally...
- On the final day, a rally of all vehicles will be organised.
- Their numerous annual funding raising events include the vintage rally, the Slieve Bloom walk, a golf classic and Sunflower day and coffee morning.
- The Kildare Branch of the IWAI is organising the boat rally and the event will mark the beginning of the boating season this year for the inland waterways.
2A long-distance race for motor vehicles over public roads or rough terrain, typically in several stages: [as modifier]: a rally driver...
- Amazingly, although set up to tackle the roughest rally terrain in the world, the Group B cars could race on a track as well.
- Antoine Bessette lost his rear wing in the closing laps of the race, but the former rally driver kept firm control of his car and finished in eighth.
- They will also continue to compete in historic road rallies.
3A quick or marked recovery after a decline: the market staged a late rally...
- The dollar has advanced 1.9 percent during the three-week rally, trimming its decline to 11.8 percent in the year.
- Markets are unpredictable, and even the smartest market watchers can't predict sudden rallies and declines.
- It suggests the possibility of gaining a similar result over a future time period made up of bear market declines and bullish rallies.
Synonyms
recovery, upturn, improvement, revival, comeback, rebound, resurgence, renewal, a turn for the better, reaction
technical dead cat bounce
4(In tennis and other racket sports) an extended exchange of strokes between players: a rally of more than three strokes was a rarity...
- Once in a while a tennis match will reach its climax with both players convinced they are going to win until the last stroke of the last rally.
- I like the back-and-forth sound in tennis of two good players having a long rally or even just warming up.
- When he was 10, he worked as a ball boy at a seniors' tournament, giving him the chance to hit a few rallies with John McEnroe.
Derivatives
rallier
- ‘'I thought he was a good ol’ boy,’ the Iowa native told the ralliers about why he voted for him in 2000.
- Protesters and ralliers lobbying for free tuition clashed with hundreds of riot cops in Quebec City outside of Quebec's main parliamentary building on Tuesday, February 18.
- There they chanted, waved signs, and otherwise expressed their political views to any ralliers who happened to be dreadfully lost.
rallyist
- But as rallyists, they never seem to catch the gimmicks while they're actually running a rallye.
- Before you accuse us of being gender-biased, we acknowledge there are excellent women racers and rallyists.
- A spectator observed that the rallyists dispensed with helmets because they wanted to show off their paper caps that had the club's logo.
Origin
Early 17th century (in the sense 'bring together again'): from French rallier, from re- 'again' + allier 'to ally'.
Rhymes
rally2
/ˈrali/verb (rallies, rallying, rallied) [with object] archaic
Subject (someone) to good-humoured ridicule; tease: he rallied her on the length of her pigtail
Origin
Mid 17th century: from French railler 'to rib, tease' (see rail2).