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

Instead, Jacob Bethell took the opportunity to climb the pecking order.

From BBC

Discovery on Monday—the latest twist in an ongoing takeover saga that is likely to upend the Hollywood pecking order.

From Barron's

Discovery on Monday—the latest twist in an ongoing takeover saga that is likely to upend the Hollywood pecking order.

From Barron's

Discovery on Monday—the latest twist in an ongoing takeover saga that is likely to upend the Hollywood pecking order.

From Barron's

Paramount’s counter offer marks the latest plot twist in a takeover saga that is likely to upend the Hollywood pecking order.

From Barron's

Related Words

• food chain
• hierarchy
• power structure
• social structure