pecking order

noun

variants also peck order
Definition of pecking ordernext
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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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of pecking order Listing agent Kendra Bishop of The Bishop Real Estate Group doesn’t hesitate when asked where this home sits in the elite neighborhood’s pecking order. — David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 8 Aug. 2026 Araujo has apparently become surplus to requirements at the Spotify Camp Nou, having fallen behind Gerard Martin and Pau Cubarsi in the center-back pecking order, and Jules Kounde at right-back. — Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026 But in normal circumstances, Remigio would likely land behind Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, Tyquan Thornton and rookie Cyrus Allen in the pecking order. — Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 6 Aug. 2026 Brown dwarfs occupy a peculiar place in the cosmic pecking order. — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 22 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for pecking order
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pecking order
  1. hierarchy
  2. ranking
Noun
  • Wednesday’s hierarchy openly predicted bumps in the road and one of them was felt on August 1, a week before the first competitive game of the new season.
    — Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • But the shifts in employment wrought by AI are challenging enterprises to adapt to more dynamic teams, assessing people based on their skills rather than their place in a hierarchy, Black says.
    — Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of hierarchy
Noun
  • Generally, the closer my preseason ranking came to a team’s final ranking in the actual Top 25, the better the grade.
    — Ralph D. Russo, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026
  • The compilation appears within the top 10 for the first time on America’s ranking of the top-selling releases of any style or length.
    — Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of ranking

Browse Nearby Words

pecking (at)
pecking order
pecking orders
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Cite this Entry

“Pecking order.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pecking%20order. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

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