pecking order
13
4.2
- noun
- /ˈpɛkɪŋ ˈɔrdər/
:
jerarquía
- In the corporate world, understanding the pecking order is essential for career advancement.
- international pecking order
And if he was going to say, was there like a pecking order?
- And if he was going to say, was there like a pecking order?
- So you quickly established your pecking order as a young man and then your little gangs that you hang out with would have their pecking orders as well.
- You know, at least Rude at least even if you go down a pecking order during your time, Alan Smith still had players that he could look to.
Examples
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She doesn't know the social pecking order.
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We're kind of at the top of the pecking order.
-
You better explain the pecking order to her, Push.
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Some boys like being in the pecking order.
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Around here, I'm at the top of the pecking order.
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Certainly I'm too far down the pecking order to be any sort of threat to him.
Fiction book (1994) -
We do note, however, that internal divisions or pecking orders are not unique to community colleges.
Academic text (2008) -
Far too often, the arts are a poor relation of the sciences in the pecking order for such provision.
Academic text (1992) -
Yeah, well, your pecking order doesn't work for me.
-
During the week, a few of us verbalized what we considered the group's pecking order.
Academic text (1994)
Synonyms
98
5.8
A system that puts people and things in order by rank or power
20
4.4
How people in a group share authority and influence
1
7.4
A way a society ranks people by money, education, and work
1
3.9
A list of people or things arranged from most to least important
Antonyms
How Hierarchical
Surface Forms
Morphology
While 'order' clearly signals a sequence or ranking, the contribution of 'pecking' is metaphorical: it alludes to birds pecking to establish dominance. A B1 learner who knows only the literal meanings may partly infer a ranking sense but would not reliably derive the idiomatic sense of social hierarchy without cultural/metaphorical knowledge, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Pecking order comes from watching birds: when chickens are pecking for food they make an order, with some birds pecking first and the others waiting. So pecking order became a simple picture for who is higher or lower in 'rank' or 'status'.