phalanx

American  

[fey-langks, fal-angks] / ˈfeɪ læŋks, ˈfæl æŋks /

noun

plural

phalanxes, phalanges

1. (in ancient Greece) a group of heavily armed infantry formed in ranks and files close and deep, with shields joined and long spears overlapping.

2. any body of troops in close array.

3. a number of individuals, especially persons united for a common purpose.

4. a compact or closely massed body of persons, animals, or things.

5. Military. Phalanx, a radar-controlled U.S. Navy 20 mm Gatling-type gun deployed on ships as a last line of defense against antiship cruise missiles.

6. (in Fourierism) a group of about 1800 persons, living together and holding their property in common.

7. Anatomy, Zoology. any of the bones of the fingers or toes.

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verb (used without object)

1. Printing. to arrange the distribution of work in a shop as evenly as possible.

phalanx British  

/ ˈfælæŋks /

noun

1. an ancient Greek and Macedonian battle formation of hoplites presenting long spears from behind a wall of overlapping shields

2. any closely ranked unit or mass of people

   the police formed a phalanx to protect the embassy

3. a number of people united for a common purpose

4. (in Fourierism) a group of approximately 1800 persons forming a commune in which all property is collectively owned

5. anatomy any of the bones of the fingers or toes

6. botany

   1. a bundle of stamens, joined together by their stalks (filaments)

   2. a form of vegetative spread in which the advance is on a broad front, as in the common reed Compare guerrilla

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phalanx Scientific  

/ fā′lăngks′ /

plural

phalanges

1. Any of the small bones of the fingers or toes in humans or the digits of many other vertebrates.

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Etymology

Origin of phalanx

First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin, from Greek phálanx “military formation, bone of finger or toe, wooden roller”

Explanation

A phalanx is a tightly knit group of people or things, like an army troop or a bunch of fans of the same band. Phalanx refers to any tightly formed group of soldiers or officers, and historically defines a body of Macedonian infantry whose shields overlapped. From that sense, it came to mean any close-knit group. Another definition of phalanx — any bone in a finger or toe — also came out of the military sense: these bones work together closely, just like a military phalanx. The plural for these bones is phalanges, while the plural for the other senses is phalanxes.

Example Sentences

A phalanx of lobbyists hired by the Blazers, meanwhile, were telling state lawmakers they’d need a total of $600 million, starting this year.

From Salon • Mar. 30, 2026

The son of a Nasa Indigenous guerrilla and an Afro‑Colombian police officer, his protection is a phalanx of some 30 Indigenous Guards, some barely out of their teens and armed with little more than batons.

From Barron's • Feb. 19, 2026

But he was well supported by a phalanx of twirlers - offies from Will Jacks and Root, leggies from Ahmed plus Jacob Bethell's left-arm orthodox.

From BBC • Jan. 24, 2026

A phalanx of demonstrators circled her and shuttled her away.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 3, 2026

“I sold them the techniques of the Romans. Do you know the phalanx? No? Well, they do. And they owe it to me.”

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

Related Words

• army
• flock
• horde
• multitude
• throng