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

Life at the bottom of the Mediterranean is adapting to the garbage, raising questions about food chains and ecosystem health that researchers are still working to understand. —Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 10 Mar. 2026

The fast food chain and shoe brand have teamed up for a limited edition Happy Meal in honor of the McDonald’s All-American Games (McDAAG), annual all-star basketball games for high school graduates. —Melina Khan, USA Today, 10 Mar. 2026

That day, Starzynski had gone to an ATM in Midtown Sacramento to make business deposits for a local food chain, prosecutors said. —Richard Ramos, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026

The food chain is in full and pitiless effect, and no one bats an eye, or side-eyes a bat, when natural predatory impulses kick in. —Justin Chang, New Yorker, 6 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