ˈhī-(ə-)ˌrär-kē
as in ladder
a scheme of rank or order
honesty sits at the top of my hierarchy of values
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Recent Examples of hierarchy
Because krump was born from the inner city and has roots in gang culture, there is a hierarchy that comes with it.
—
Dominick Williams, Kansas City Star, 26 Apr. 2026
New social hierarchies emerged.
—Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 25 Apr. 2026
Even ordinary hierarchy can begin to feel psychologically threatening in a culture that treats discomfort itself as a problem.
—Jonathan Alpert Outkick, FOXNews.com, 25 Apr. 2026
Baby boomers—who currently occupy a significant share of managerial and executive roles—built their careers inside a workplace culture defined by formality, hierarchy, and personal relationships cultivated face-to-face.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hierarchy
Dominick Williams, Kansas City Star, 26 Apr. 2026
New social hierarchies emerged.
—Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 25 Apr. 2026
Even ordinary hierarchy can begin to feel psychologically threatening in a culture that treats discomfort itself as a problem.
—Jonathan Alpert Outkick, FOXNews.com, 25 Apr. 2026
Baby boomers—who currently occupy a significant share of managerial and executive roles—built their careers inside a workplace culture defined by formality, hierarchy, and personal relationships cultivated face-to-face.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hierarchy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hierarchy
Noun
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While American proprietary models like Anthropic’s Claude, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini remain at the top of the industry ladder for now, Chinese firms are undeniably dominating open systems.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
24 Apr. 2026
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But the lesson from Jassy’s wing club isn’t the need to eat competitively in order to climb the corporate ladder—but rather that consistent and shared experiences can do far more for relationship-building than any formal networking event.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Colorado residents have faced the highest percentage premium increases measured in any state this decade, according to a ranking from Lending Tree.—
Aldo Svaldi,
Denver Post,
24 Apr. 2026
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Bella DeVaan, director of the Charity Reform Initiative at IPS, offered conditional praise for the new Forbes ranking.—
Daniel de Visé,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
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And just recently, CATL unveiled the world's first sodium-ion battery designed specifically for grid-scale energy storage – set for commercial deployment before the end of 2026.—
Omar Kardoudi
April 28,
New Atlas,
28 Apr. 2026
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According to the district, about 46% of teachers are currently at the top of the pay scale (MA+60), earning between $92,814 and $129,589 per year.—
Sarah Horbacewicz,
CBS News,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hierarchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hierarchy. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026.
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