PECKING ORDER Definition & Meaning

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pecking order

Sometimes peck order

noun

Animal Behavior.��a dominance hierarchy, seen especially in domestic poultry, that is maintained by one bird pecking another of lower status.
a sequence or hierarchy of authority in an organization or social group.

pecking order

noun

Also called: peck order.��a natural hierarchy in a group of gregarious birds, such as domestic fowl
any hierarchical order, as among people in a particular group

pecking order

A hierarchy within a social group or community, in which those members at the top assume positions of leadership, authority, and power. The expression originated from a description of social behavior among chickens, which attack each other by pecking to establish dominance.

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of pecking order¹

First recorded in 1925–30

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Idioms and Phrases

The hierarchy of authority in a group, as in On a space mission, the astronauts have a definite pecking order. This expression, invented in the 1920s by biologists who discovered that domestic poultry maintain such a hierarchy with one bird pecking another of lower status, was transferred to human behavior in the 1950s.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

She had fallen down the pecking order with Chelsea's Hannah Hampton looking increasingly likely to secure the number one spot for this summer's championship.

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The England international has won three Premier League titles, the Champions League and FA Cup with City but has fallen down the pecking order this season.

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At first, Spence was so far down Postecoglou's pecking order he was not even included in the squad for the Europa League group stage, coming in for the knockout stages.

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George Ford has slipped down the England fly-half pecking order, with first Marcus Smith and then Fin Smith steering the ship.

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Two other key players in tariffs policy were notably absent, prompting one source close to the White House to tell Reuters news agency there had been a "pecking order change".

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Related 51�Թ�s

peckerwood Peckinpah

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