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

A lot of Eagles fans will get their wings at the Jug Handle Inn, which consistently scores near the top of the pecking order among Philadelphia wing shops. —Scott Horsley, NPR, 7 Feb. 2025

Ferguson has dropped behind Danny Welbeck, Joao Pedro and Georginio Rutter in the pecking order for the centre of Hurzeler’s attack. —James McNicholas, The Athletic, 4 Feb. 2025

And while the pecking order behind him on the leaderboard changed, the result wasn’t going to. —Jim Alexander, Orange County Register, 19 Jan. 2025

In 2025, however, Fati is way down the first team selection pecking order on the outside looking in from the bench. —Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025

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