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

That’s six guys ahead of Sochan in the pecking order, with quite a few of those players either already making real money or slated to get expensive down the road. —Sam Vecenie, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026

And the Warriors had established a clear pecking order that could vary game-to-game but largely remained the same. —Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026

But basketball tops Baker’s pecking order. —Michael Osipoff, Chicago Tribune, 5 Jan. 2026

Who exactly is on that list for Team Canada, how many players are on that list and the exact pecking order is publicly unclear. —Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 5 Jan. 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