Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - range

 I. noun  Usage: often attributive  Etymology: Middle English, row of persons, from Anglo-French ~, renge, from renger to ~  Date: 14th century  1.  a.  (1) a series of things in a line ; row  (2) a series of mountains  (3) one of the north-south rows of townships in a United States public-land survey that are numbered east and west from the principal meridian of the survey  b. an aggregate of individuals in one order  c. a direction line  2. a cooking stove that has an oven and a flat top with burners or heating elements  3.  a. a place that may be ~d over  b. an open region over which animals (as livestock) may roam and feed  c. the region throughout which a kind of organism or ecological community naturally lives or occurs  4. the act of ranging about  5.  a.  (1) the horizontal distance to which a projectile can be propelled  (2) the horizontal distance between a weapon and target  b. the maximum distance a vehicle or craft can travel without refueling  c.  (1) a place where shooting is practiced  (2) driving ~  6.  a. the space or extent included, covered, or used ; scope  b. the extent of pitch covered by a melody or lying within the capacity of a voice or instrument  7.  a. a sequence, series, or scale between limits a wide ~ of patterns  b. the limits of a series ; the distance or extent between possible extremes  c. the difference between the least and greatest values of an attribute or of the variable of a frequency distribution  8.  a. the set of values a function may take on  b. the class of admissible values of a variable  9. line 11 Synonyms:  ~, gamut, compass, sweep, scope, orbit mean the extent that lies within the powers of something (as to cover or control). ~ is a general term indicating the extent of one's perception or the extent of powers, capacities, or possibilities the entire ~ of human experience. gamut suggests a graduated series running from one possible extreme to another a performance that ran the gamut of emotions. compass implies a sometimes limited extent of perception, knowledge, or activity your concerns lie beyond the narrow compass of this study. sweep suggests extent, often circular or arc-shaped, of motion or activity the book covers the entire sweep of criminal activity. scope is applicable to an area of activity, predetermined and limited, but somewhat flexible as time went on, the scope of the investigation widened. orbit suggests an often circumscribed ~ of activity or influence within which forces work toward accommodation within that restricted orbit they tried to effect social change.  II. verb  (~d; ranging)  Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French renger, from renc, reng line, place, row — more at rank  Date: 14th century  transitive verb  1.  a. to set in a row or in the proper order  b. to place among others in a position or situation  c. to assign to a category ; classify  2.  a. to rove over or through  b. to sail or pass along  3. to ar~ (an anchor cable) on deck  4. to graze (livestock) on a ~  intransitive verb  1.  a. to roam at large or freely  b. to move over an area so as to explore it  2. to take a position  3.  a. to correspond in direction or line ; align  b. to extend in a particular direction  4. to have ~  5. to change or differ within limits  6. of an organism to live or occur in or be native to a region