food chain

noun

Definition of food chainnext
as in hierarchy
a series of types of living things in which each one uses the next lower member of the series as a source of food Sharks eat fish that are lower in the food chain. animals that are at the top of the food chain

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for food chain
  1. hierarchy
  2. grouping
Noun
  • Depending on the club, the hierarchies are still clear, and there might be little overlap between those positions.
    — Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Naked mole rat colonies have a hierarchy that loosely aligns with body size, where only the largest females have a shot at becoming queen—and only the queen reproduces.
    — Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of hierarchy
Noun
  • The signifying fruit was intended to get around the 1980 Israeli ban on political art featuring the grouping of the flag’s colors.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Lemon mostly worked in personnel groupings with Smith and Wicks.
    — Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of grouping
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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food
food chain
food chains
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Cite this Entry

“Food chain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/food%20chain. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on food chain

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about food chain

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