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
Noun
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People who are rude or unaware with receptionists can poison your culture, create unnecessary hierarchies, and drive your best people to leave.—
Jessica Neal,
CNBC,
5 Nov. 2025 -
Their excavations revealed no signs of a social hierarchy, such as statues of specific individuals.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN Money,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Some wonky orbital math suggests that Jupiter’s gravitational influence could have condensed rubble from the breakup into such a grouping.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
3 Nov. 2025
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In the fall, Hempstead recommends hiking just beyond Chester Lake to Elephant Rocks, a grouping of huge limestone boulders surrounded by coniferous trees called larches, whose soft needles turn buttery yellow in late September.—
Lisa Kadane,
Travel + Leisure,
2 Nov. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Food chain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/food%20chain. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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