pecking order

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

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

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of pecking order¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Idioms and Phrases

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.

Example Sentences

He could even be ahead of Bashir in the pecking order and would be an option at number eight.

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Realistically, Potts is bottom of the pecking order in England's six Ashes seamers, though his chances of playing a Test have increased with the doubt over Wood.

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That was Eisman’s logic: the logic of Wall Street’s pecking order.

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Buried in the pecking order at receiver, coaches requested Lemon move to cornerback for depth purposes.

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Try to imagine another star at the top of pop’s pecking order comfortable with anyone, but especially their mother, describing them as desperate.

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Related Words

• food chain 
• hierarchy 
• power structure 
• social structure