hierarchy

noun hi·er·ar·chy \ ˈhī-(ə-)ˌrär-kē also ˈhi(-ə)r-ˌär- \

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

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Examples of hierarchy in a Sentence

… 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
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
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
The church hierarchy faced resistance to some of their decisions.
He was at the bottom of the corporate hierarchy.
a rigid hierarchy of social classes

Recent Examples of hierarchy from the Web

Cartels were once based on family ties and known for maintaining strict hierarchies that rewarded members' loyalty with promotion through the ranks.

— joshua partlow, chicagotribune.com, "Acapulco, once Mexico's glamorous resort city, is now its murder capital," 25 Aug. 2017
Urbanization, migration, growing inequality, and even changing cultural expectations regarding corruption, authority, and hierarchies all contribute.

— moisés naím, The Atlantic, "The Uprising of the Global Middle Class," 25 Aug. 2017
Cartels were once based on family ties and known for maintaining strict hierarchies that rewarded members’ loyalty with promotion through the ranks.

— joshua partlow, Washington Post, "Acapulco is now Mexico’s murder capital," 24 Aug. 2017
Wights seem to be the least intelligent of the hierarchy and appear to take orders from their White Walker superiors.

— chanel vargas, Harper's BAZAAR, "This Game of Thrones Fan Theory Says Losing a Dragon May Have Been Worth It," 24 Aug. 2017
With brute force, and with a few key promotions of black and brown people who would help him, Rizzo maintained Philadelphia’s racial hierarchy.

— solomon jones, Philly.com, "Remove the Rizzo statue from public property," 22 Aug. 2017
Preibus’s replacement Kelly immediately set about trying to impose hierarchy and discipline on a West Wing that had mostly resisted it.

— joshua green, Bloomberg.com, "Bannon’s Path From Trusted Attack Dog to Toxic Liability," 18 Aug. 2017
Success came quickly to the newcomer from Bartow, whose grasp of policy and skill at messaging made him a protégé of House Speaker Dennis Hastert and No. 3 in the House Republican hierarchy.

— steve bousquet, miamiherald, "Congressional voting record may make or break Putnam’s run for governor," 11 Aug. 2017
Our routing plan makes direct network connections mirror this real-world emergency response hierarchy.

— nirmala shenoy, Scientific American, "Creating a High-Speed Internet Lane for Emergency Situations," 2 Aug. 2017

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

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First Known Use: 14th century

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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

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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

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