pecking order

variants also peck order
as in hierarchy
the way in which people or things in a group or organization are placed in a series of levels with different importance or status As an assistant manager, he was pretty low in the company's pecking order.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pecking order After that, the quarterback pecking order has been rather mixed. Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Apr. 2025 Yildiz hadn’t scored for Juve since the derby win against Torino on January 11, a period of well over two months, and had fallen down the pecking order under Motta towards the end. Emmet Gates, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025 Yet Yildiz has fallen down the pecking order at Juve, and has only scored four goals and provided two assists from 28 games in Serie A this season. Emmet Gates, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025 The first is the onset of new regulations in 2026, which will reset the pecking order. Sahil Kapur, NBC News, 14 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for pecking order
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pecking order
Noun
  • These tools are arranged in a hierarchy, with a powerful LLM tool acting as the project manager, delegating tasks to whatever will get the job done.
    Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 12 May 2025
  • Central among them are questions about the role of women, the exercise of power in the church hierarchy and the move to a more missionary church that gets out of its comfort zone.
    Christopher Lamb, CNN Money, 11 May 2025
Noun
  • Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings.
    Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 4 May 2025
  • Despite the team losing the top spot in The Athletic’s most recent power rankings, playing the adjusted run line for the Dodgers remains one of my favorite bets in baseball.
    The Athletic, New York Times, 2 May 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pecking order.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pecking%20order. Accessed 19 May. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!