First Known Use: 1796
Dictionary
1echelon
noun ech·e·lon \ˈe-shə-ˌlän\
: a level in an organization : a level of authority or responsibility
Full Definition of ECHELON
1
a (1) : an arrangement of a body of troops with its units each somewhat to the left or right of the one in the rear like a series of steps (2) : a formation of units or individuals resembling such an echelon <geese flying in echelon> (3) : a flight formation in which each airplane flies at a certain elevation above or below and at a certain distance behind and to the right or left of the airplane ahead b : any of several military units in echelon formation; also : any unit or group acting in a disciplined or organized manner <served in a combat echelon>
2
a : one of a series of levels or grades in an organization or field of activity <involved employees at every echelon> b : a group of individuals at a particular level or grade in an organization <the upper echelons of the bureaucracy>
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Origin of ECHELON
French échelon, literally, rung of a ladder, from Old French eschelon, from eschele ladder, from Late Latin scala
Related to ECHELON
Rhymes with ECHELON
Abadan, Acheron, Ahriman, aileron, alençon, amazon, Amazon, amnion, and so on, antiphon, Aragon, autobahn, balmacaan, Bantustan, baryon, Basilan, bear down on, beat up on, betatron, biathlon, cabochon, call upon, calutron, carillon, carry-on, carry on, celadon, check up on, chorion, colophon, come upon, Culiacán, cyclotron, decagon, decathlon, demijohn, dine out on, early on, electron, elevon, enteron, epsilon, ethephon, etymon, fall back on, fermion, follow-on, Genghis Khan, get it on, go back on, going on, goings-on, gonfalon, Grand Teton, graviton, hanger-on, harijan, helicon, heptagon, hereupon, hexagon, hold out on, hopping John, Huascarán, hyperon, Isfahan, isochron, Kublai Khan, Kyrgyzstan, lay eyes on, Lebanon, leprechaun, liaison, Lipizzan, load up on, logion, looker-on, macédoine, marathon, Marathon, marzipan, mastodon, Mazatlán, Miquelon, miss out on, morion, move in on, myrmidon, nonagon, noumenon, nucleon, Oberon, octagon, off and on, omicron, Oregon, organon, ostracon, Pakistan, Palawan, pantheon, paragon, Parmesan, parmigiana, Parthenon, peloton, pentagon, pentathlon, Percheron, Phlegethon, Phocion, pick up on, polygon, positron, Procyon, put-upon, Rajasthan, Ramadan, ride herd on, run low on, run out on, run upon, set eyes on, set foot on, set upon, silicon, sneak up on, Süleyman, tachyon, Taiyuan, talkathon, telamon, telethon, thereupon, tie one on, triathlon, Tucumán, upsilon, virion, walkathon, walk out on, whereupon, woebegone, work upon, Yerevan, Xiangtan, Zahedan
2echelon
verb
Definition of ECHELON
transitive verb
: to form or arrange in an echelon
intransitive verb
: to take position in an echelon
First Known Use of ECHELON
circa 1860
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