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

"The pecking order is well and truly set," according to Green, who played 12 times for England from 2005 to 2012.

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However, just like at Arsenal, he has to contend with being behind Saka in the pecking order.

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"Maybe it will be Aggie Beever-Jones who will be first to come on now. She is knocking on the door, saying 'look at me, I am here' to try to get up that pecking order."

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That issue seems far down the pecking order right now.

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Over the course of this summer, Overton has gone ahead of Matthew Potts and Sam Cook in the pecking order, albeit if the comparison is slightly clumsy because of their different attributes.

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Related Words

• food chain 
• hierarchy 
• power structure 
• social structure