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

His study is one of the first to look at the effects on zooplankton, tiny organisms that are eaten by fish and insects and represent an important part of the food chain. —Nara Schoenberg, Chicago Tribune, 13 June 2025

McDonald's shares dropped Tuesday as weight-loss drugs threaten to take a big bite out of the fast food chain's earnings. —Anne Marie D. Lee, CBS News, 10 June 2025

Most recently, the company has averaged opening 50 to 60 new restaurants per year, and the fast food chain plans to keep that up in 2025 and 2026. —Saleen Martin, USA Today, 4 June 2025

The fast food chain has 103 restaurants in North America and more than 1,700 worldwide with more stores, like the Elk Grove location, planned to open, according to the company website. —Marcus D. Smith, Sacbee.com, 3 June 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