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
Well, there are a couple of other people now associated with Chiefs fandom that might beat me in the pecking order.
—
Mike Ryan, IndieWire, 26 May 2026
Despite them being family, there was a firm hierarchy in place, as Maul remained above Savage in the pecking order, and both brothers accepted it.
—Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 19 May 2026
Despite the initial hurdles, Hale persevered in a house full of toxic haters and fought her way back from the very bottom of the pecking order to become the first Black woman to win Big Brother and the show’s America’s Favorite Player award in one fell swoop.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 6 May 2026
The pecking order of capitalism favors the few at the very top.
—Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Bon Appetit Magazine, 14 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pecking order
Mike Ryan, IndieWire, 26 May 2026
Despite them being family, there was a firm hierarchy in place, as Maul remained above Savage in the pecking order, and both brothers accepted it.
—Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 19 May 2026
Despite the initial hurdles, Hale persevered in a house full of toxic haters and fought her way back from the very bottom of the pecking order to become the first Black woman to win Big Brother and the show’s America’s Favorite Player award in one fell swoop.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 6 May 2026
The pecking order of capitalism favors the few at the very top.
—Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Bon Appetit Magazine, 14 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pecking order
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pecking order
Noun
-
According to Reuters, the United States and European Union raised concerns that the resolution could be interpreted as creating a hierarchy among crimes against humanity by treating some atrocities as more serious than others.—
Jasmine Baehr,
FOXNews.com,
21 June 2026
-
The result is a club conceived without the hierarchies that characterize some of its London counterparts—members shaped not by title or industry, but by curiosity and shared sensibility.—
Rachel Ingram,
Robb Report,
21 June 2026
Noun
-
The smash has now dominated the 60-space ranking for three consecutive periods.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2026
-
Some are Team Green, some are Team Black, some are neither, and most have done terrible things that this ranking is not meant to endorse.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
19 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pecking order.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pecking%20order. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
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