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

Word History

First Known Use

1927, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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

ˈpek-ˌ 

: 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