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

Pollutants accumulate in the flesh of animals at every level of the food chain, but they get concentrated at higher levels, and orcas sit at the very top. —Kelso Harper, Scientific American, 16 Dec. 2025

Those metals could harm fish, which could then impact other animals in the food chain. —Barbara Moran, NPR, 16 Dec. 2025

If there are no zooplankton around, there can be a ripple effect up the food chain, especially on the fish that depend on zooplankton. —Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 12 Dec. 2025

Fast food chains such as Burger King, McDonald's, and Whataburger are offering deals every day for members of their loyalty programs, and Chipotle has buy-one-get-one (BOGO) offers on Saturdays all month long. —Gabe Hauari, USA Today, 12 Dec. 2025

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