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
-
But the Bernabeu hierarchy are well aware of the value of their club.—
Dermot Corrigan,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025 -
There is so much to explore in that space between imagination and reality—interacting with a person and with their works, the various hierarchies and hopes.—
Cressida Leyshon,
New Yorker,
12 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
When in a forest, stay in proximity to shorter tree groupings.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
14 Oct. 2025
-
In January, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger also withdrew from West African regional bloc Ecowas, having earlier formed their own Alliance of Sahel States grouping.—
Preeti Jha,
semafor.com,
13 Oct. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Food chain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/food%20chain. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share