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

Brown dwarfs occupy a peculiar place in the cosmic pecking order. — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 22 July 2026

Phoenix put down a stake in the pecking order of the second division of MLP with a dominant 3-1 win over Florida. — Todd Boss, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

Those two hires had highlighted SMU’s rising position in the pecking order. — Chris Vannini, New York Times, 16 July 2026

The scale of this World Cup, the limitless supply of clips of exuberant fans, and the degree of passion might not shake up the pecking order of American sports. — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 7 July 2026

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