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

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for food chain
Noun
  • The fact Nuno did not have the opportunity to work with his entire squad last summer — only two new additions had arrived in time to join the training camp in Portugal — played a role in the breakdown of his relationship with the Forest hierarchy.
    Paul Taylor, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
  • With less money being invested by record labels into touring, that has created a top-heavy artist hierarchy, with the rich getting richer and the poor and middle class falling by the wayside.
    Roy Trakin, Rolling Stone, 1 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The Broncos had 01 personnel on the field — no running backs, one tight end and four wide receivers — but the play Payton called didn’t match that grouping.
    Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
  • When in a forest, stay in proximity to shorter tree groupings.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 29 Sep. 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.

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“Food chain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/food%20chain. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.

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