rally

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. v. To call together for a common purpose; assemble: rally troops at a parade ground.
2. v. To reassemble and restore to order: rally scattered forces.
3. v. To rouse or revive from inactivity or decline: paused to refresh themselves and rally their strength.
4. v. To come together for a common purpose.
5. v. To join in an effort for a common cause: "In the terror and confusion of change, society rallied round the kings” ( Garrett Mattingly).
6. v. To recover abruptly from a setback or disadvantage: The stock market declined, then rallied. The home team rallied in the ninth inning to win the game.
7. v. To show sudden improvement in health or spirits.
8. v. Sports To exchange several strokes before a point is won, as in tennis.
9. n. A gathering, especially one intended to inspire enthusiasm for a cause: a political rally.
10. n. A reassembling, as of dispersed troops.
11. n. The signal ordering this reassembly.
12. n. An abrupt recovery from a setback or disadvantage.
13. n. A sharp improvement in health, vigor, or spirits.
14. n. A notable rise in stock market prices and trading volume after a decline.
15. n. Sports An exchange of strokes in a court game such as tennis or volleyball, ending when one side fails to make a good return and resulting in a point or the loss of service.
16. n. Sports A competition in which automobiles are driven over public roads and under normal traffic regulations but with specified rules as to speed, time, and route.
17. v. To tease good-humoredly; banter.
18. v. To engage in good-humored teasing or jesting.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. To bring together or into order again by urgent effort; urge or bring to reunion for joint action; hence, to draw or call together in general for a common purpose: as, to rally a disorganized army; to rally voters to the polls.
2. To call up or together, unite, draw, gather up, concentrate, etc., energetically.
3. To come together or into order again with haste or ardor; reunite energetically; hence, to gather or become conjoined for a common and; cohere for aid or support.
4. To come into renewed energy or action; acquire new or renewed strength or vigor; undergo restoration or recovery, either partial or complete: as, the market rallied from its depression; the patient rallied about midnight.
5. n. A rapid or ardent reunion for effort of any kind; a renewal of energy in joint action; a quick recovery from disorder or dispersion, as of a body of troops or other persons.
6. n. Theat., specifically, the general scramble or chase of all the players in a pantomime; a mêlée of pantomimists, as at the end of a transformation scene.
7. n. In lawn-tennis, the return of the ball over the net from one side to the other for a number of times consecutively.
8. n. A quick recovery from a state of depression or exhaustion; renewal of energy or of vigorous action; return to or toward the prior or normal condition, as in disease, trade, active exertion of any kind, etc.: as, a rally in the course of a disease; a rally in prices.
9. To attack with raillery; treat with jocose, satirical, or sarcastic pleasantry; make merry with in regard to something; poke fun at; quiz.
10. Synonyms Banter, etc. (see banter), joke, quiz, tease.
11. To use pleasantry or satirical merriment.
12. n. An exercise of good humor or satirical merriment.
13. In boxing, to attack vigorously.
14. In sporting, to parry.
15. n. In electioneering, a mass-meeting of a political party: as, a Republican rally was held in the town hall.
16. n. The military signal for rallying: as, to sound the rally.

Wiktionary

1. n. A demonstration; an event where people gather together to protest for or against a given cause
2. n. , table tennis, tennis, badminton) A sequence of strokes between serving and scoring a point.
3. n. motor racing An event in which competitors drive through a series of timed special stages at intervals. The winner is the driver who completes all stages with the shortest cumulative time.
4. n. business, trading A recovery after a decline in prices; -- said of the market, stocks, etc.
5. v. To collect, and reduce to order, as troops dispersed or thrown into confusion; to gather again; to reunite.
6. v. To come into orderly arrangement; to renew order, or united effort, as troops scattered or put to flight; to assemble; to unite.
7. v. To collect one's vital powers or forces; to regain health or consciousness; to recuperate.
8. v. business, trading To recover strength after a decline in prices; -- said of the market, stocks, etc.
9. v. To tease; to chaff good-humouredly.
10. n. Good-humoured raillery.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. v. To collect, and reduce to order, as troops dispersed or thrown into confusion; to gather again; to reunite.
2. v. To come into orderly arrangement; to renew order, or united effort, as troops scattered or put to flight; to assemble; to unite.
3. v. To collect one's vital powers or forces; to regain health or consciousness; to recuperate.
4. v. To recover strength after a decline in prices; -- said of the market, stocks, etc.
5. n. The act or process of rallying (in any of the senses of that word).
6. n. Colloq. U. S. A political mass meeting.
7. v. To attack with raillery, either in good humor and pleasantry, or with slight contempt or satire.
8. v. To use pleasantry, or satirical merriment.
9. n. Good-humored raillery.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a marked recovery of strength or spirits during an illness
2. v. gather or bring together
3. v. return to a former condition
4. v. harass with persistent criticism or carping
5. n. a large gathering of people intended to arouse enthusiasm
6. n. the feat of mustering strength for a renewed effort
7. v. call to arms; of military personnel
8. n. an automobile race run over public roads
9. n. (sports) an unbroken sequence of several successive strokes
10. v. gather.