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

Further down the pecking order, Will Lankshear, also 20, and 21-year-old Dane Scarlett lack the experience to spearhead the attack regularly in the biggest competitions. —Elias Burke, New York Times, 27 July 2025

Baker was another former four-star recruit that will look to make an impact and move up the pecking order during camp. —Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 July 2025

Indeed, Nicolas Jackson has been knocked down the pecking order and Manchester United has been linked. —Graham Ruthven, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025

Behind closer Edwin Diaz (4-0, 1.66, 19 saves), Hartwig was challenged to crack a pecking order that included right-handers Reed Garrett (2-4, 2.87 ERA), Jose Buttó (2-1, 2.47 ERA), Huascar Brazoban (5-2, 3.99 ERA) and Max Kranick (3-2, 3.65 ERA). —Jon Paul Hoornstra, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 July 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