Definition of "phalanx" [pha•lanx]

• A compact or close-knit body of people: "formed a solid phalanx in defense of the Constitution and Protestant religion” ( G.M. Trevelyan). (noun)
• A formation of infantry carrying overlapping shields and long spears, developed by Philip II of Macedon and used by Alexander the Great. (noun)
• Anatomy A bone of a finger or toe. Also called phalange. (noun)
• See phalanstery. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "He made preparations for an expedition to the Pass of the Caspian mountains, forming a new legion out of his late levies in Italy, of men all six feet high, which he called the phalanx of Alexander the Great."
• "[581]; forming a new legion out of his late levies in Italy, of men all six feet high, which he called the phalanx of Alexander the Great."
• "Coming down the pier were royal thranites, holding their polished and gleaming oars aloft while they marched in phalanx step down to the gangplank."