rally around

come together to support someone or something in a difficult time

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What does "rally around sb/sth" mean?

To rally around someone is to collectively come together and offer support to a person or group going through hardship. The emphasis is on solidarity — multiple people uniting their efforts in response to adversity, whether emotional, practical, or political. What makes this phrasal verb distinctive is its inherently collective quality: it captures the sense of a community, team, or group mobilising as one, rather than individuals acting alone. It carries a warm connotation of loyalty and shared purpose, and is often used in narratives looking back on how people responded to a crisis. Slightly more elevated in tone than simply 'support', it frequently appears in journalism, political commentary, and personal storytelling.

Examples

How to use it

group + rally around + person/cause

The most common structure, where a collective subject unites to support a person, group, or cause facing difficulty.

The entire department rallied around their colleague when she was unexpectedly made redundant.

rally around + pronoun (him/her/them/us)

Pronouns follow 'around' directly and cannot be placed between 'rally' and 'around'.

When the coach was criticised in the press, the players immediately rallied around him.

rally around (no object)

The object can be dropped when it is clear from context who is being supported, creating a natural short form.

It was a difficult few months, but her family and friends really rallied around.

rally around + abstract noun (a cause/leader/flag)

Used in political or broader social contexts to describe collective support for an idea, movement, or figurehead.

Voters from across the party rallied around the new candidate ahead of the election.

Common Collocations

rally around the familyrally around a friendrally around the teamrally around their leaderrally around a causecommunity rallied around

Common Mistakes

Trying to separate the verb

Unlike some phrasal verbs, 'rally around' cannot be separated. The object must always come after 'around', never between 'rally' and 'around'.

✗ The community rallied the grieving family around.
✓ The community rallied around the grieving family.
Using a singular subject

'Rally around' carries a collective sense of shared support, so using a single individual as the subject sounds unnatural. The subject should almost always be a group, team, or plural noun.

✗ She rallied around him when he lost his job.
✓ Her friends and colleagues rallied around him when he lost his job.
Confusing with 'gather around'

'Gather around' refers to physically coming together near something, while 'rally around' is specifically about uniting to offer emotional or practical support in difficult circumstances.

✗ The teammates gathered around their injured captain in a show of support. (if emotional support, not just physical proximity, is the intended meaning)
✓ The teammates rallied around their injured captain throughout his recovery.

Usage

British English speakers often prefer 'rally round' over 'rally around', but both mean exactly the same thing. The subject is almost always a group (friends, the community, colleagues), not a single person.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can 'rally around' be used in the passive, like 'she was rallied around by her friends'?

No — 'rally around' cannot be used in the passive. Because the person being supported follows the preposition 'around' rather than being the direct object of the verb, there is no grammatical way to make them the subject of a passive sentence. Always use the active form with the supporting group as the subject.

Is 'rally around' the same as 'rally round'?

'Rally round' and 'rally around' are identical in meaning. The difference is regional: 'rally round' is the preferred form in British English, while 'rally around' is more common in American English. Both are fully correct and interchangeable.

Can I use 'rally around' in the present continuous, like 'everyone is rallying around her'?

It's possible if you're describing support happening at a very specific moment, but it can sound slightly awkward. 'Rally around' works most naturally in the simple past or present perfect, especially in narratives. For ongoing support, saying 'everyone has rallied around her' or 'everyone is supporting her' tends to sound more natural.

What kinds of things can people 'rally around'? Does it have to be a person?

Not necessarily. While 'rally around' most often takes a person or group as its object, it's also used with abstract nouns like a cause, a leader, or an idea — particularly in political contexts. However, it should not be used with physical locations or objects, as the phrasal verb is exclusively about offering support, not physically surrounding something.

Does 'rally around the flag' have a special meaning?

Yes — 'rally around the flag' is a well-established phrase in political contexts, referring to a surge of public support for a government or leader during a national crisis. It implies that people set aside their differences to unite behind a shared symbol of national identity. Outside of this political usage, 'rally around' can refer to any act of collective solidarity.

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