noun

phalanx

FA-langks

noun

A tight military formation of soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder with shields and spears, used in ancient Greece.

"The Macedonian phalanx advanced with spears bristling in every direction."

A large, tightly packed group of people or things acting together.

"A phalanx of photographers blocked the actor's path."

One of the small bones that make up a finger or toe.

"The X-ray showed a hairline fracture in the proximal phalanx."

How to Use Phalanx

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishEither an ancient tightly packed battle formation, a dense crowd acting as one, or a finger/toe bone.

Common pairings

phalanx of soldiers phalanx of reporters proximal phalanx

phalanxes plural, phalanges plural

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The Macedonian _____ advanced with spears bristling in every direction.

From Greek phalanx, "battle order, line of soldiers" — later borrowed by anatomists for the similarly lined-up finger bones.