hierarchy
Americannoun
-
hierarchies
plural
-
any system of persons or things ranked one above another.
-
government by ecclesiastical rulers.
-
the power or dominion of a hierarch.
-
an organized body of ecclesiastical officials in successive ranks or orders.
the Roman Catholic hierarchy.
-
one of the three divisions of the angels, each made up of three orders, conceived as constituting a graded body.
-
Also called celestial hierarchy. the collective body of angels.
-
government by an elite group.
-
Linguistics. the system of levels according to which a language is organized, as phonemic, morphemic, syntactic, or semantic.
noun
-
a system of persons or things arranged in a graded order
-
a body of persons in holy orders organized into graded ranks
-
the collective body of those so organized
-
a series of ordered groupings within a system, such as the arrangement of plants and animals into classes, orders, families, etc
-
linguistics maths a formal structure, usually represented by a diagram of connected nodes, with a single uppermost element Compare ordering heterarchy tree
-
government by an organized priesthood
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of hierarchy
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English jerarchie, from Middle French ierarchie, gerarchie, from Medieval Latin (h)ierarchia, from Late Greek hierarchía “stewardship of sacred rites, rule or power of the high priest,” equivalent to hier(o)- “holy, sacred” + -archía, a combining form meaning “rule”; see hier(o)-, -archy
Explanation
Hierarchy describes a system that organizes or ranks things, often according to power or importance. At school the principal is at the top of the staff hierarchy, while the seniors rule the student hierarchy. Also known as a pecking order or power structure, a hierarchy is a formalized or simply implied understanding of who's on top or what's most important. All that sorting and ranking can be helpful if you're a business administrator, but if you find yourself arranging all the produce in your fridge according to a hierarchy of color, size, and expiration date, you might want to consider visiting a therapist.
Vocabulary lists containing hierarchy
New Kid
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
100 SAT Words Beginning with "H"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Every organization has a hierarchy, and, Fogel said, the title of one CEO or another?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Just four months after Arsenal won the Premier League under the ownership of US billionaire Stan Kroenke, Liverpool's hierarchy have opted for outside investment in a bid to regain the crown.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
He informed the club's hierarchy of his wish a couple of weeks prior, only to agree to stay on until a successor, Matthias Jaissle, was found.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
“In that era, hierarchy was incredibly important, very visible,” says Kurosawa.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
The higher their position in the hierarchy, the deeper their resentment.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
Ms. Brown catalogs the patient loads, paperwork and hospital hierarchies that wear nurses down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Ilaiyaraaja's mastery of the form helped disrupt those hierarchies.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
This is the Christian tradition: questioning inherited norms, unsettling comfortable hierarchies, insisting that the ethical imagination can go further than traditional society allows.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026
Those species often have more rigid dominance hierarchies and predictable succession systems.
From Science Daily ● May 26, 2026
Humans, like chimps, have social instincts that enabled our ancestors to form friendships and hierarchies, and to hunt or fight together.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
