food chain

noun

1
: an arrangement of the organisms of an ecological community according to the order of predation in which each uses the next usually lower member as a food source
2
: a hierarchy based on power or importance
at the top of the corporate food chain

Examples of food chain in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The fast food chain will also resume selling Quarter Pounders in all of its restaurants this week after the Colorado Department of Agriculture said the company’s beef patties used for the Quarter Pounder tested negative for E. coli. Alexandra Banner, CNN, 30 Oct. 2024 Other fast food chains participating in spooky good deals include Baskin-Robbins, where instead of candy, trick-or-treaters can treat themselves to 31% off of ice cream scoops ordered on the app for Halloween. Angel Saunders, People.com, 30 Oct. 2024 Photo: Little Vignettes Photo/Shutterstock The exodus is more annoying to the people further down the meat-packing food chain who have been driving to pick up from wholesalers here for a while — 120 years, in the case of Pino’s Prime Meats of Soho. Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 28 Oct. 2024 McDonald's and other fast food chains also pulled raw, slivered onions from their meals after health officials identified a Taylor Farms facility in Colorado Springs that supplies the products as the likely source of contamination. Rebecca Falconer, Axios, 28 Oct. 2024 In response, the fast food chain has proactively removed the onions and patties used for the burgers from stores in the affected states, according to the CDC. Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2024 According to Colossal, bringing back this apex predator could help maintain species diversity among the creatures below it on the food chain. Scott Travers, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024 Those tiny plastics are then consumed by fish and work their way up the food chain. Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 30 Oct. 2024 Some other major fast food chains who have received onions from Taylor Farms – including Burger King, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC – have removed fresh onions from their menus at some locations. Deidre McPhillips, CNN, 25 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1920, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of food chain was in 1920

Dictionary Entries Near food chain

Cite this Entry

“Food chain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/food%20chain. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

food chain

noun
: a series of organisms in which each uses the next usually lower member of the series as a food source
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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