English▸ noun
1 a level or rank in an organization, a profession, or society:
the upper echelons of the business world.
2 Military a formation of troops, ships, aircraft, or vehicles in parallel rows with the end of each row projecting further than the one in front:
the regiment lined up shoulder to shoulder in three tight echelons
[mass noun] there are two planes, lying in echelon with one another.
▪ [often with modifier] a part of a military force differentiated by position in battle or by function:
the rear echelon.
▸ verb [with object] Military arrange in an echelon formation:
(as noun echeloning) the echeloning of fire teams.
– ORIGIN late 18th century (in echelon (SENSE 2 OF THE noun)): from French échelon, from échelle ‘ladder’, from Latin scala.