position on a scale in relation to others in status or rank or achievement
"After reviewing all the candidates, her ranking as the top performer made it clear she would receive the promotion."
One’s relative placement in a list.
"After reviewing all the submissions, her ranking as third place was officially confirmed by the committee."
In plain English: A ranking is a list that orders people or things from best to worst or first to last.
"The new survey changed the global ranking of countries with the highest life expectancy."
Usage: Use ranking to describe an individual's specific position within a larger ordered group, such as their rank on a leaderboard or standing among competitors. This noun is often confused with the verb form when referring to the act of arranging items by quality rather than stating where someone stands in that arrangement.
present participle of rank
"The ranking officer inspected the new recruits before they lined up for their morning briefing."
In plain English: To rank something is to decide how good it is compared to other things and put it in order from best to worst.
"The new manager is ranking all the employees based on their sales performance."
Having a specified rank.
"With their new ranking, the team now sits at number three in the league standings."
In plain English: Something that is ranked is arranged in order from best to worst.
"The ranking candidate was chosen to lead the team."
Derived from Old French ranger, ranking originally meant to arrange in order. The modern sense evolved in English during the 16th century to denote placing people or things according to merit or status.