variants
also peck order
as in hierarchy
the way in which people or things in a group or organization are placed in a series of levels with different importance or status
As an assistant manager, he was pretty low in the company's pecking order.
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Recent Examples of pecking order
Unless one of them emerges largely unscathed, the winner of the Mountain West could be right at the top of the Group of Five pecking order.
—
Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 10 Sep. 2025
Even with the loss of Adam, the Padres’ pecking order in late-and-close games is clear.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Sep. 2025
For all its challenges, China continues to upend the global pecking order.
—William Pesek, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
The pecking order largely determines practice opportunities during the season.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pecking order
Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 10 Sep. 2025
Even with the loss of Adam, the Padres’ pecking order in late-and-close games is clear.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Sep. 2025
For all its challenges, China continues to upend the global pecking order.
—William Pesek, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
The pecking order largely determines practice opportunities during the season.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pecking order
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pecking order
Noun
-
The oil and gas outsiders at Venture Global are doing so by upending project design norms, upsetting the Big Oil hierarchy, and dominating the nascent gas export industry.—
Jordan Blum,
Fortune,
25 Sep. 2025
-
Highly ranked within the bear hierarchy.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
In 2023, New College was ranked 100 among national liberal arts colleges, and then in 2024 its ranking fell to 122.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
27 Sep. 2025
-
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, a list that’s been compiled by a British media company for nearly a quarter-century, has just announced its inaugural ranking of North America’s 50 Best Restaurants.—
Linda Zavoral,
Mercury News,
26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pecking order.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pecking%20order. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
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