pecking order

American  

Sometimes peck order

noun

1. Animal Behavior. a dominance hierarchy, seen especially in domestic poultry, that is maintained by one bird pecking another of lower status.

2. a sequence or hierarchy of authority in an organization or social group.

---

pecking order British  

noun

1. Also called: peck order.  a natural hierarchy in a group of gregarious birds, such as domestic fowl

2. any hierarchical order, as among people in a particular group

---

pecking order Cultural  

1. A hierarchy within a social group or community, in which those members at the top assume positions of leadership, authority, and power. The expression originated from a description of social behavior among chickens, which attack each other by pecking to establish dominance.

---

pecking order Idioms  

1. The hierarchy of authority in a group, as in On a space mission, the astronauts have a definite pecking order. This expression, invented in the 1920s by biologists who discovered that domestic poultry maintain such a hierarchy with one bird pecking another of lower status, was transferred to human behavior in the 1950s.

---

Etymology

Origin of pecking order

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Real Madrid defender Trent Alexander-Arnold has fallen down the England pecking order.

From BBC • Jun. 30, 2026

In a time of distress, like a recession, “there’s a pecking order to who gets in the lifeboat first,” Ed Al-Hussainy, portfolio manager at Columbia Threadneedle Investments, told Barron’s late last year.

From Barron's • Jun. 15, 2026

Between artificial intelligence, the Iran War, and the future of Taiwan, there’s a lot for the United States and China to hash out—not least of which being the pecking order.

From Slate • May 15, 2026

So to build a sense of camaraderie, Finch found a way to flip the pecking order upside down.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026

Without ever quite meaning to, I’d entered the troop’s pecking order.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer

Related Words

• food chain
• hierarchy
• power structure
• social structure