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

Not through explosions, but through slow, invisible leakage into marine ecosystems and food chains. —Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 25 Mar. 2026

Pollinators have a very important role in the food chain, so why not give them a beautiful garden to work in? —Lesly Gregory, AJC.com, 23 Mar. 2026

This small gray fox — roughly the size of a large cat —is the top of the food chain at Santa Cruz Island, one of the five islands that make up Channel Islands National Park. —Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 23 Mar. 2026

Concentrations of beryllium, copper, chromium, nickel and lead in particular were significantly above established safety thresholds for marine life, prompting fears for the long-term health of fish, marine mammals and the marine food chain. —Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 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