two-tier system
1
4.1
- noun
:
sistema de dos niveles
- The exclusion of domestic service and agricultural work from social insurance benefits resulted in a two-tier system that protected some workers and not others.
- an existing two-tier system
Examples
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Many countries struggle with a two-tier system that favors wealthier citizens in accessing healthcare.
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Making matters more difficult is the two-tier system of news in many countries.
Academic text (2009) -
To accommodate such a market demand in intercollegiate football at the NCAA Division I level, athletic administrators created a two-tier system for selling season tickets and general admission tickets for individual games.
Academic text (2005) -
Such a system would undoubtedly produce a two-tier system of abortion access, causing significant health burdens for women generally and reifying fundamental inequities in society, particularly for low-income women.
Academic text (2017) -
That's my definition of a two-tier system—one in which the government provides a baseline of care, and in which a significant percentage of individuals purchase additional health insurance or premium direct health care.
Blog text (12) -
The education department proposed a two-tier system to differentiate between public and private schools.
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In the corporate world, a two-tier system often exists where high-level executives receive benefits not available to regular employees.
Synonyms
A method with two levels that do different things
How Complex
Surface Forms
Morphology
two-tier + system
The meaning 'a system with two distinct levels' is compositionally derived from 'two' (the number) + 'tier' (level/layer) combined with 'system' (structure). This is a straightforward, cross-linguistically common compounding pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The noun two-tier system comes from the image of two stacked tiers, like seats in a theater or layers of a cake, where one level is above the other. That's why it describes a system with 'two levels' that give 'different treatment' or access to different people.