range

noun

• 1the area of variation between upper and lower limits on a particular scale:the cost will be in the range of $1-5 million a day grand hotels were outside my price range
• the scope of a person’s knowledge or abilities:in this film he gave some indication of his range
• the compass of a person’s voice or a musical instrument:she was gifted with an incredible vocal range
• the period of time covered by something such as a forecast.
• the area covered by or included in something:a guide to the range of debate this issue has generated
• Mathematics the set of values that a given function can take as its argument varies.

• 2a set of different things of the same general type:the area offers a wide range of activities for the tourist the company’s new carpet range

• 3the distance within which a person can see or hear:something lurked just beyond her range of vision
• the maximum distance to which a gun will shoot or over which a missile will travel:these rockets have a range of 30 to 40 miles a duck came within range
• the maximum distance at which a radio transmission can be effectively received:planets within radio range of Earth
• the distance that can be covered by a vehicle or aircraft without refuelling:the vans have a range of 125 miles
• the distance between a camera and the subject to be photographed: handheld shots taken at extreme telephoto ranges can be pretty wobbly affairs

• 4a line or series of mountains or hills:a mountain range
• (ranges) Australian/NZ mountainous or hilly country: no one would know if he had survived to live out his life in the ranges back from the river country

• 5a large area of open land for grazing or hunting: on dude ranches, tourists put on crisp new western gear to ride the range
• an area of land or sea used as a testing ground for military equipment: the cost of dealing with unexploded shells and bombs on former military ranges
• an open or enclosed area with targets for shooting practice: he went down to the ranges to practise shooting
• the area over which a plant or animal is distributed: the chimpanzee extensively overlaps the gorilla in its forest range

• 6a large cooking stove with burners or hotplates and one or more ovens, all of which are kept continually hot: a wood-burning kitchen range
• North American an electric or gas cooker.

• 7a row of buildings: Townesend’s Durham quadrangle range at Trinity College
• a continuous stretch of a building.

• 8 [mass noun] archaic the direction or position in which something lies:the range of the hills and valleys is nearly from north to south

verb

• 1 [no object, with adverbial] vary or extend between specified limits:prices range from £30 to £100

• 2 [with object and adverbial] place or arrange in a row or rows or in a specified manner:a table with half a dozen chairs ranged around it
• [no object, with adverbial of direction] run or extend in a line in a particular direction:he regularly came to the benches that ranged along the path
• Printing, British (with reference to type) align or be aligned, especially at the ends of successive lines.

• 3 (range someone against or be ranged against) place oneself or be placed in opposition to (a person or group):Japan ranged herself against the European nations

• 4 [no object, with adverbial of direction] (of a person or animal) travel or wander over a wide area:patrols ranged deep into enemy territory [with object]:tribes who ranged the windswept lands of the steppe (as adjective, in combination -ranging)free-ranging groups of baboons
• (of a person’s eyes) pass from one person or thing to another:his eyes ranged over them
• (of something written or spoken) cover a wide number of different topics:tutorials ranged over a variety of subjects

• 5 [no object] obtain the range of a target by adjustment after firing past it or short of it, or by the use of radar or laser equipment:radar-type transmissions which appeared to be ranging on our convoys
• [with adverbial] (of a projectile) cover a specified distance.
• [with adverbial] (of a gun) send a projectile over a specified distance.