1
a
: a rounded crosspiece between the legs of a chair
b
: one of the crosspieces of a ladder
2
Scotland
: a heavy staff or cudgel
3
: a spoke of a wheel
4
: a level in a hierarchy
rise a few rungs on the social scale—
H. W. Van Loon
H. W. Van LoonSynonyms
Examples of rung in a Sentence
Noun
He was on the bottom rung on the corporate ladder.
the top rung of society
the lowest rung of the pay scale
Recent Examples on the WebHugh McIntyre, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2024
There is a mysterious rung on the career ladder wherein young professionals are faced with an existential dilemma: to bob or not to bob.
—Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 20 Sep. 2024
Adding to the slowdown overall is the difficulty luxury groups still face in appealing to high-end buyers when art acquisitions fall to the lowest rung of their fiscal priorities, Montgolfier said.
—Angelica Villa, ARTnews.com, 18 Sep. 2024
And so an atom, say, can receive quanta of energy, and so jump between kind of rungs on their energy ladder to go from one discrete amount of energy to another discrete amount of energy.
—Quanta Magazine, 12 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for rung 
Noun
This week, that track opens at No. 46 on the Official Singles Downloads tally and one rung lower on the Official Singles Sales chart.
—Hugh McIntyre, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2024
There is a mysterious rung on the career ladder wherein young professionals are faced with an existential dilemma: to bob or not to bob.
—Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 20 Sep. 2024
Adding to the slowdown overall is the difficulty luxury groups still face in appealing to high-end buyers when art acquisitions fall to the lowest rung of their fiscal priorities, Montgolfier said.
—Angelica Villa, ARTnews.com, 18 Sep. 2024
And so an atom, say, can receive quanta of energy, and so jump between kind of rungs on their energy ladder to go from one discrete amount of energy to another discrete amount of energy.
—Quanta Magazine, 12 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for rung
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rung.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near rung
Cite this Entry
“Rung.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rung. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
rung
1 of 2past participle of ring entry 3
rung
2 of 2 noun
: a rounded part placed as a crosspiece between the legs of a chair
also
: one of the crosspieces of a ladder
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