hierarchy

noun

hi·​er·​ar·​chy ˈhī-(ə-)ˌrär-kē How to pronounce hierarchy (audio)
 also  ˈhi(-ə)r-ˌär-
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

Did you know?

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.

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 on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The constant need to increase memory performance and density to keep pace with the performance of the processing elements and the demands of increasingly complex workloads, such as AI, has driven innovation at every layer of the hierarchy. Jim McGregor, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025 Where once the ballplayers were the easy marks, now athletes sat at the top of the hierarchy. Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025 The Athletics: There has been no indication about how the team will replace Miller at the top of the hierarchy. Greg Jewett, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2025 Right now, the Heat’s leadership hierarchy, particularly with the loss of the veteran voice of Kevin Love, is Bam or bust. Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 30 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for hierarchy

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hierarchy was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hierarchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hierarchy. Accessed 8 Aug. 2025.

Kids Definition

hierarchy

noun
hi·​er·​ar·​chy ˈhī-(ə-)ˌrär-kē How to pronounce hierarchy (audio)
plural hierarchies
1
: a ruling body especially of clergy organized into ranks
2
a
: an arrangement into a series according to rank
b
: persons or things arranged in ranks or classes

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