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

While the first version of the fast food chain's special meal was released earlier this month, a new edition has just hit restaurants around the world. —Melina Khan, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2025

As part of the airport’s nearly $4 billion Terminal 1 renovation project, local restaurants, cafes, fast food chains and specialty stores are landing inside. —Abby Hamblin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Sep. 2025

Despite these advances, the study supports the theory that predators were still a serious threat, and humans wouldn’t reach the top of the food chain until a later evolutionary stage. —Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 19 Sep. 2025

So are nanoplastics silently infiltrating our food chain, or just stirring up trouble at the roots? —Pranjal Malewar, New Atlas, 19 Sep. 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