phalanx

Fetched 2026-10-26 (cache).

Datamuse reports no synonyms or antonyms for this word.

Noun

1. {{lb|en|historical}} An ancient [[Greek]] and [[Macedonian]] military unit that consisted of several [[rank]]s and [[file]]s (lines) of soldiers in close [[array]] with joined shields and long spears.
2. A large group of people, animals or things, compact or closely massed, or tightly knit and united in common purpose.
3. {{lb|en|historical|_|sociology}} A [[Fourierite]] [[utopian]] community; a [[phalanstery]].
4. {{lb|en|skeleton}} One of the [[bone]]s of the [[finger]] or [[toe]].
5. {{lb|en|botany}} A [[bundle]] of [[stamen]]s, in [[diadelphous]] and [[polyadelphous]] [[flower]]s.

Proper noun

1. The brand name of a radar-controlled [[rapid fire]] 20mm [[w:Gatling_gun|Gatling-type]] [[machine gun]], the '''Phalanx''' [[CIWS]] (pronounced ''see-wiz''), deployed on U.S. Navy ships as a last line of defense against [[antiship]] [[cruise missile]]s.

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wiktionary dump) · cached copy, not a rewrite.