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pecking order
noun
variants
or less commonly peck order
1
: the basic pattern of social organization within a flock of poultry in which each bird pecks another lower in the scale without fear of retaliation and submits to pecking by one of higher rank
broadly
: a dominance hierarchy in a group of social animals
2
: a social hierarchy
Examples of pecking order in a Sentence
As an assistant manager, he was pretty low in the company's pecking order.
the pecking order of Washington politics
Recent Examples on the Web
After their primary target Rachel won immunity, Caroline was unfortunately next in the pecking order, and she was eliminated from the game by a vote of 3-2-2.
—Nick Caruso, TVLine, 5 Dec. 2024
And on Friday evening, the Rockets visited Oklahoma City Thunder and got a rude reminder of the current Western Conference pecking order, losing 126-107.
—Rahat Huq, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
In the meantime, high school playoffs continue to roll on and there was a shakeup in the 247Sports Composite that changed the pecking order of the nation’s top quarterbacks.
—Grace Raynor, The Athletic, 25 Nov. 2024
Those above and below him on the pecking order have to wear this failure of a season, as well.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 16 Sep. 2024
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Word History
First Known Use
1927, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Articles Related to pecking order
Dictionary Entries Near pecking order
Cite this Entry
“Pecking order.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pecking%20order. Accessed 25 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
pecking order
noun
variants
also peck order
1
: a basic pattern of social organization within a flock of poultry in which each bird pecks another lower in the scale without being pecked in return and allows pecking by one of higher rank
2
: a social order with ranks or classes
Medical Definition
pecking order
noun
peck·ing order
ˈpek-iŋ-ˌ
variants
also peck order
: the basic pattern of social organization within a flock of poultry in which each bird pecks another lower in the scale without fear of retaliation and submits to pecking by one of higher rank compare cannibalism sense 3, dominance sense a
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