Thesaurus results for FOOD CHAIN

food chain

noun

Definition of food chain

as in hierarchy

a series of types of living things in which each one uses the next lower member of the series as a source of food Sharks eat fish that are lower in the food chain. animals that are at the top of the food chain

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for food chain

Noun

Ownership Starts With Humility People want to play team sports, not serve a hierarchy.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
The Old Trafford hierarchy entered the window with the intention of signing up to three midfielders, but with little hope of beating Manchester City to their first-choice target Anderson, who is signing for a record fee for a British player.

— Aston Villa, New York Times, 13 July 2026

Definition of hierarchy

Noun

On the eve of the conference, China launched its World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO), a new grouping of 29 countries, including Russia, Indonesia and Pakistan, friendly to China and its aims.

— Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 17 July 2026
When in a forest, stay in proximity to shorter tree groupings.

— STAR-TELEGRAM WEATHER BOT, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 July 2026

Definition of grouping

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

food

food chain

food chains

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Food chain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/food%20chain. Accessed 24 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of food chain

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on food chain

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

itinerant

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?

Popular

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes