pecking 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 calledpeck 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

Brooklyn’s remaining star in Durant can and will do more for the Nets, but Griffin will have to slide up in the pecking order when he’s on the floor.

From FiveThirtyEight

There’s going to be clear winners and losers, and the pecking order of the industry is going to change.

From Time

The team’s injury issues have thrust him forward in the pecking order, to the point where his success or failure at handling the playoff crucible seems likely to be a determinative in the Nuggets’ ultimate fortunes.

From FiveThirtyEight

There’s also a pecking order within each of these disciplines.

From Nautilus

Given the Bulls’ place in the pecking order, the 2021 pick is probably going to land in the late-lottery, or just outside it, this year.

From Washington Post

The pecking order of democracy is reduced to this: When the president wants to go, he gets to go.

From The Daily Beast

During any other month, that news alone would have signaled a new world order, an upheaval in the pecking order.

From The Daily Beast

That parsing of the pecking order, though, didn't extend to his personal life or interactions with colleagues.

From The Daily Beast

Without the informal pecking order, sociopaths have free room to maneuver.

From The Daily Beast

Romney has already gone the extra mile to position himself below Netanyahu in the murky pecking order of US-Israeli relations.

From The Daily Beast

They hadn't any organization, or any place to maintain on an organizational pecking-order.

From Project Gutenberg

They have a simple me-stronger pecking order so I pecked a bit and we can drink.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• food chain
• hierarchy
• power structure
• social structure