Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

hierarchy

noun hi·er·ar·chy \ ˈhī-(ə-)ˌrär-kē also ˈhi(-ə)r-ˌär- \
|Updated on: 17 Jul 2018

Definition of hierarchy

plural hierarchies
1 : a division of angels
2 a : a ruling body of clergy organized into orders or ranks each subordinate to the one above it; especially : the bishops of a province or nation
b : church government by a hierarchy
3 : a body of persons in authority
4 : the classification of a group of people according to ability or to economic, social, or professional standing; also : the group so classified
5 : a graded or ranked series
  • a hierarchy of values

See hierarchy defined for English-language learners

See hierarchy defined for kids

Examples of hierarchy in a Sentence

  1. … he wrote a verse whose metaphors were read somewhere in the Baathist hierarchy as incitement to Kurdish nationalism. —Geraldine Brooks,  Los Angeles Times,  30 Dec. 2001
  2. Whereas the monkeys normally hew to strict hierarchies when it comes to who gets the best food and who grooms whom, there are no obvious top or rotten bananas in the sharing of millipede secretions. —Natalie Angier,  New York Times,  5 Dec. 2000
  3. The idea that social order has to come from a centralized, rational, bureaucratic hierarchy was very much associated with the industrial age. —Francis Fukuyama,  Atlantic,  May 1999

  4. The church hierarchy faced resistance to some of their decisions.

  5. He was at the bottom of the corporate hierarchy.

  6. a rigid hierarchy of social classes

Recent Examples of hierarchy from the Web

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hierarchy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

What did hierarchy Originally Mean?

The earliest meaning of hierarchy in English has to do with the ranks of different types of angels in the celestial order. The idea of categorizing groups according to rank readily transferred to the organization of priestly or other governmental rule. The word hierarchy is, in fact, related to a number of governmental words in English, such as monarchy, anarchy, and oligarchy, although it itself is now very rarely used in relation to government.

The word comes from the Greek hierarchēs, which was formed by combining the words hieros, meaning “supernatural, holy,” and archos, meaning. “ruler.” Hierarchy has continued to spread its meaning beyond matters ecclesiastical and governmental, and today is commonly found used in reference to any one of a number of different forms of graded classification.

Origin and Etymology of hierarchy

Middle English ierarchie rank or order of holy beings, from Anglo-French jerarchie, from Medieval Latin hierarchia, from Late Greek, from Greek hierarchēs

hierarchy Synonyms

Synonyms

graduation, ladder, ordering, ranking, scale;

Related Words

food chain, pecking order (also peck order);

arrangement, array, disposal, disposition, distribution, sequence, series, setup;

degree, echelon, footing, level, place, position, reaches, rung, situation, spot, standing, station, status;

HIERARCHY Defined for English Language Learners

hierarchy

noun

Definition of hierarchy for English Language Learners

  • : a group that controls an organization and is divided into different levels

  • : a system in which people or things are placed in a series of levels with different importance or status

Learn More about hierarchy

  1. See words that rhyme with hierarchy Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for hierarchy Spanish Central: Translation of hierarchy Nglish: Translation of hierarchy for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of hierarchy for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up hierarchy? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

vouchsafe

play

to grant as a privilege or special favor

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. socialism 'a way of organizing a society in which major industries are owned and controlled by the government'

  2. uphold 'to let stand'

  3. due process 'a course of formal proceedings (as judicial proceedings)'

  4. asylum 'protection from arrest and extradition given especially to political refugees'

  5. insubordinate 'disobedient to authority'

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

hierarchy

Test Your Vocabulary

Obscure Shapes

  • a-pile-of-three-dimensional-shapes-in-green
  • Something that is ooid is shaped like:
True or False

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Citation

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games