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

That way, the buyers, as unsecured creditors, would not be lower in the pecking order to lenders, the secured creditors. —Linda Robertson, Miami Herald, 2 Mar. 2025

Yet there’s also been a lack of leadership within the Bianconeri side, especially more so since the departure of Danilo, who fell down the pecking order under Motta at the beginning of the season. —Emmet Gates, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025

There’s a pecking order, see, and Africa isn’t top of it. —Phil Hay, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025

Male birds also sometimes display their colors as a way to establish a pecking order. —Jason Bittel, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1927, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pecking order

• boarder
• border
• corder
• warder
• camcorder
• disorder
• recorder
• reorder
• suborder
• transborder

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