ral·ly¹ / ˈralē/ • v. (-lies, -lied) [intr.] 1. (of troops) come together again in order to continue fighting after a defeat or dispersion: De Montfort's troops rallied and drove back the king's infantry. ∎  [tr.] bring together (forces) again in order to continue fighting: the king escaped to Perth to rally his own forces. ∎  assemble in a mass meeting: up to 50,000 people rallied in the city center. ∎  come together in order to support a person or cause or for concerted action: conservatives in the GOP rallied behind Goldwater. ∎  [tr.] bring together (forces or support) in such a way: a series of meetings to rally support for the union. ∎ Sports come from behind in scoring. ∎  (of a person) recover their health, spirits, or poise: she floundered for a moment, then rallied again. ∎  [tr.] revive (a person or their health or spirits): they rallied her with a drink. ∎  (of share, currency, or commodity prices) increase after a fall: prices of metals such as aluminum and copper have rallied.2. drive in a rally. ∎  (in tennis and other racket sports) engage in a rally.• n. (pl. -lies) 1. a mass meeting of people making a political protest or showing support for a cause: a rally attended by around 100,000 people. ∎  an open-air event for people who own a particular kind of vehicle: a traction engine rally.2. (also rallye) a competition for motor vehicles in which they are driven a long distance over public roads or rough terrain, typically in stages and through checkpoints: [as adj.] a rally driver. 3. a quick or marked recovery after a reverse or a period of weakness: the market staged a late rally. ∎  (in baseball and football) a renewed or sustained offensive, usually by the losing team, that ties or wins the game.4. (in tennis and other racket sports) an extended exchange of strokes between players. ∎  hitting the ball back and forth to warm up before a match begins.DERIVATIVES: ral·li·er n.ral·ly·ist n. (in sense 2 of the noun ).ral·ly² • v. (-lies, -lied) [tr.] archaic subject (someone) to good-humored ridicule; tease: he rallied her on the length of her pigtail.

rally1 reassemble, revive XVI; also intr. XVII. — F. rallier, f. RE- + allier ALLY2.
Hence sb. XVII.

rally2 treat with good-humoured ridicule. XVII (in early use also railly). — F. railler RAIL4. Cf. RAILLERY.

Rally

a group of persons gathered together with a common purpose, as a political rally, U.S., 1878; a scramble or chase; a series of strokes in tennis; a series of comments, criticisms or humorous banter between two or more participants.

Example : rally of stirring springs, 1674.