pecking order

noun

variants or less commonly peck order

1

: the basic pattern of social organization within a flock of poultry in which each bird pecks another lower in the scale without fear of retaliation and submits to pecking by one of higher rank

broadly : a dominance hierarchy in a group of social animals

2

: a social hierarchy

Examples of pecking order in a Sentence

As an assistant manager, he was pretty low in the company's pecking order.

the pecking order of Washington politics

Recent Examples on the Web

There was no disgrace in his failure to force a spot ahead of Dominik Szoboszlai or Curtis Jones in the pecking order of attacking midfielders. —James Pearce, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025

Even with the loss of Adam, the Padres’ pecking order in late-and-close games is clear. —Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Sep. 2025

For all its challenges, China continues to upend the global pecking order. —William Pesek, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025

The pecking order largely determines practice opportunities during the season. —Andrew Greif, NBC news, 26 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1927, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pecking order

• boarder
• border
• corder
• warder
• camcorder
• disorder
• recorder
• reorder
• suborder
• transborder

Kids Definition

pecking order

noun

variants also peck order

1

: a basic pattern of social organization within a flock of poultry in which each bird pecks another lower in the scale without being pecked in return and allows pecking by one of higher rank

2

: a social order with ranks or classes

Medical Definition

pecking order

noun

peck·​ing order ˈpek-iŋ-ˌ 

variants also peck order

ˈpek-ˌ 

: the basic pattern of social organization within a flock of poultry in which each bird pecks another lower in the scale without fear of retaliation and submits to pecking by one of higher rank compare cannibalism sense 3, dominance sense a