rank and file

rank and file

n.

1. The enlisted troops, excluding noncommissioned officers, in an army.

2. The people who form the major portion of a group, organization, or society, excluding the leaders and officers.

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rank-and-file (rngkn-fl) adj.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	rank and file - the ordinary members of an organization (such as the enlisted soldiers of an army); "the strike was supported by the union rank and file"; "he rose from the ranks to become a colonel" rank armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine - the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker" personnel, force - group of people willing to obey orders; "a public force is necessary to give security to the rights of citizens" enlisted man - a male enlisted person in the armed forces
	2.	rank and file - people who constitute the main body of any group people - (plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively; "old people"; "there were at least 200 people in the audience"