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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
With the Republican National Convention about 130 days away, two of the lead organizers for the international-scale event took the stage at Marquette University Law School Thursday to talk about everything from protest preparations to the pecking order for delegates' hotel assignments.
—Alison Dirr, Journal Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2024
After a recent strong stretch of play, has Michael Porter Jr. become No. 3 in the pecking order for Denver?
—Matt Schubert, The Denver Post, 18 Jan. 2024
The draw of a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback in front of a Southern California fan base may have aided USC’s climb up the pecking order for the Holiday Bowl, but Williams could be a prime candidate to opt out of the postseason game.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 3 Dec. 2023
Then again, writers tend to understand their place in the pecking order better than star hosts.
—Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2024
In the pecking order, Moody is now behind Paul, Kuminga, Thompson, Wiggins, Quinones, Gary Payton II and Dario Saric.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2024
Of all the components in the team’s late-season pitching plans, however, few are bigger than Bobby Miller — the 24-year-old phenom who could emerge as an X-factor down the stretch or fade down the pecking order if rookie struggles mount.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2023
While Purdue was topping the polls for the past month, the Boilermakers dropped a second Big Ten road game this week and find themselves down the pecking order in the standings.
—USA TODAY, 12 Jan. 2024
Upstarts Brighton and Newcastle are unproven, as is Aston Villa, but all three could parlay strong foundations and little luck with a rise up the pecking order.
—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 11 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pecking order.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1927, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Articles Related to pecking order
Dictionary Entries Near pecking order
Cite this Entry
“Pecking order.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pecking%20order. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.
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
: 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
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for pecking order
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