Illustration of totem pole
- totem pole 1
totem pole
noun
1
: a pole or pillar carved and painted with a series of totemic symbols representing family lineage and often mythical or historical incidents and erected by Indian tribes of the northwest coast of North America
2
: an order of rank : hierarchy
Examples of totem pole in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Master artist Nathan Jackson had put down his chisel and was taking a break from carving a totem pole to chat with me and my husband.
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Fran Golden, Travel + Leisure, 22 June 2024
What Happened Next Surprised Him (Exclusive) Lowe and McCarthy, 61, were part of the famous Brat Pack, a group of young actors that sat at the top of Hollywood’s totem pole in the 1980s.
—Jen Juneau, Peoplemag, 6 June 2024
Losses matter more now for a Knicks team fighting for its playoff life, but getting the stars back healthy ranks atop the totem pole of priorities.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 7 Mar. 2024
But the compensation update applies to all employees, regardless of placement on the totem pole.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for totem pole 
Fran Golden, Travel + Leisure, 22 June 2024
What Happened Next Surprised Him (Exclusive) Lowe and McCarthy, 61, were part of the famous Brat Pack, a group of young actors that sat at the top of Hollywood’s totem pole in the 1980s.
—Jen Juneau, Peoplemag, 6 June 2024
Losses matter more now for a Knicks team fighting for its playoff life, but getting the stars back healthy ranks atop the totem pole of priorities.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 7 Mar. 2024
But the compensation update applies to all employees, regardless of placement on the totem pole.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for totem pole
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'totem pole.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Totem pole.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/totem%20pole. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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