Crossword Genius

Breaking them puts one out of line (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ranks

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'breaking them' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'one out of line' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'one' could be 'an' (an apple is one apple) and 'an' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'puts' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ranks that I've seen before include "Lines or rows of people or things" , "Positions of seniority" , "Rows (of soldiers)" , "Grades, in armed forces say" , "Classifies" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Independent.
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