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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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Etymology

Origin of pecking order

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pecking order

In the Olympic hospitality pecking order, the premium lounges beat the leisure lounges and the hospitality pavilions, which provide shared havens for followers of multiple sports.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

Unless Isidor can force his way above Brobbey in the pecking order, he is an avoid for me.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Perhaps the Chargers’ first preseason game — and who plays first, most or not at all during it — will indicate a pecking order.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

But it's still some way behind women's football, which is a global powerhouse and higher up the US sporting pecking order.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

The newly arrived could not help but notice the unfair pecking order.

From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield

Related Words

• food chain
• hierarchy
• power structure
• social structure