food chain

American  

[food cheyn] / ˈfud ˌtʃeɪn /

noun

1. Ecology. a series of organisms interrelated in their feeding habits, the smallest being fed upon by a larger one, which in turn feeds a still larger one, etc.

2. the chain from a food source to the ultimate consumer.

3. a hierarchy ranked by status, importance, influence, etc..

   people who are high up on the political and media food chain.

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food chain British  

noun

1. ecology a sequence of organisms in an ecosystem in which each species is the food of the next member of the chain

2. informal the hierarchy in an organization or society

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food chain Scientific  

/ fo̅o̅d /

1. The sequence of the transfer of food energy from one organism to another in an ecological community. A food chain begins with a producer, usually a green plant or alga that creates its own food through photosynthesis. In the typical predatory food chain, producers are eaten by primary consumers (herbivores) which are eaten by secondary consumers (carnivores), some of which may in turn be eaten by tertiary consumers (the top carnivore in the chain).

2. ◆ Many species of animals in an ecological community feed on both plants and animals and thus play multiple roles in the chain. Parasites feed on living tissues, generally without killing their hosts, and may themselves be hosts to smaller parasites. In addition, organisms that die without being eaten are consumed by detritivores, some of which serve as prey for other consumers. The complex system of interrelated food chains in an environment is known as a food web.

3. See more at trophic level

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food chain Cultural  

1. The series of steps by which energy is obtained, used, and transformed by living things. For example: sunlight helps grain to grow, the grain feeds cattle, and humans eat the cattle.

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Discover More

Harmful chemicals can become concentrated as they move up the food chain.

Etymology

Origin of food chain

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Polar bears were just the biggest, baddest, most obvious part of the food chain.

From Literature

Last month, the High Street food chain Leon said it will close 20 restaurants and cut jobs as part of a major restructure.

From BBC

But those clubs are at the top of the food chain and would not have experience of being the poorer relative.

From BBC

I am the top of this food chain—at least here in this patch of forest.

From Literature

According to the research, this prehistoric sea was filled with enormous marine reptiles, some growing longer than 10 meters, that occupied a previously unseen seventh level of the food chain.

From Science Daily