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

The contract between Hailey Bieber and hyperexpensive health-food chain Erewhon lapsed in November 2025, and since then the smoothie has been celeb-less. —Bethy Squires, Vulture, 5 Feb. 2026

The loss of one species can tilt an environment, causing the overabundance or eradication of another, with effects rippling down the food chain. —Tom Page, CNN Money, 4 Feb. 2026

Spurs were in the market for wingers at the start of the window, but their targets were snapped up by clubs higher in the food chain or were declared unavailable until the summer. —Elias Burke, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026

The fast food chain is also bringing back their chocolate milk. —Rin Velasco, The Providence Journal, 3 Feb. 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