Range - Definition

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, range, 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:
range, 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: range, 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, range of a function]
8: the limit of capability; "within the compass of education"
[syn: compass, range, reach, grasp]
9: a kitchen appliance used for cooking food; "dinner was
already on the stove" [syn: stove, kitchen stove,
range, kitchen range, cooking stove]
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: range, 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, range, 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: range, 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: range,
array, lay out, set out]
6: feed as in a meadow or pasture; "the herd was grazing" [syn:
crop, browse, graze, range, 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, range, order, grade,
place]