food chain

noun

1

: an arrangement of the organisms of an ecological community according to the order of predation in which each uses the next usually lower member as a food source

2

: a hierarchy based on power or importance

at the top of the corporate food chain

Examples of food chain in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Mexican food chain, which opened in San Diego in 1983, closed 11 Northern California stores, including the Natomas location. — Emma Hall, Sacbee.com, 1 Oct. 2026

The fast food chain has announced its foray into the moody music genre with a new album, titled Songs to Listen to in a Wendy’s Parking Lot. — Erin Clements, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2026

Dinaro has worked on a number of transactions, including pet retailer Arcaplanet, food chain La Piadineria, and fashion brands and apparel firms like Golden Goose and K-Way. — Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 21 Sep. 2026

Folks who grew up on Wendy’s Frosties and chicken nuggets may recall that back in the day the fast food chain had some very memorable packaging. — Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 21 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1920, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for food chain

• abstain
• airplane
• alkane
• arcane
• arraign
• attain
• backplane
• betaine
• biplane
• blockchain
• butane
• campaign

Kids Definition

food chain

noun

: a series of organisms in which each uses the next usually lower member of the series as a food source