# pecking order

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. The natural ranking of social status and dominance occurring in a group of birds.
2. The usually informal hierarchy of authority, command, or social status, as determined by the especially natural propensity for domination of different members of a specific group over each other, such as older brothers and sisters over their younger siblings.

## Etymology
Calque of German Hackordnung.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/pecking-order