food chain

noun

Definition of food chainnext
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

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for food chain
  1. hierarchy
  2. grouping
Noun
  • The film’s symmetrical compositions, the careful placement of characters within these distinctive spaces, all serve to create a sense of immovable social hierarchy and repression.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Decades earlier, Atlanta had thrown its own enormous party, celebrating a fantasy of Southern womanhood while reinforcing the racial and social hierarchies of the real South—and conveniently leaving the horrors of slavery out of the picture.
    — Serena Turner, Vanity Fair, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of hierarchy
Noun
  • Although more than half of the Paleolithic cave-art groupings recorded in Europe are located in the Iberian Peninsula, the study notes that the northeastern region has generally yielded only fragmentary evidence.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Israel’s largest Arab party grouping declared its support Thursday for Gadi Eisenkot to form the next government, potentially clearing the path for a coalition that excludes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
    — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of grouping
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Browse Nearby Words

food
food chain
food chains
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Cite this Entry

“Food chain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/food%20chain. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on food chain

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about food chain

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