How to Use pecking order in a Sentence

pecking order

noun
  • As an assistant manager, he was pretty low in the company's pecking order.
  • Sites on the mainland with bay views are third in the pecking order.
    — Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2025
  • The pecking order will sort it out, and the gentle birds will lose.
    — Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 30 June 2026
  • Even the flea markets have a pecking order.
    — Paul Jebara, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Nov. 2025
  • But here’s a hunch the Broncos have the pecking order all mixed up.
    — Mark Kiszla, The Denver Post, 26 Mar. 2020
  • What’s the pecking order at quarterback, and who will start for you?
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Dec. 2021
  • By the end of this season, perhaps, the pecking order in the new league should take shape in earnest.
    — oregonlive, 26 Aug. 2021
  • My place in the pecking order has forever changed.
    — Frederick Dreier, Outside, 28 Sep. 2025
  • English was third in the pecking order of languages.
    — Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2026
  • Sometimes a hen gets picked on by the others and has to be coaxed back into the pecking order.
    — Tove Danovich, The Atlantic, 7 Mar. 2025
  • Not up to speed and is behind Hugo Bueno in the pecking order.
    — Tim Spiers, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
  • So the Mavs could have something to say about the final pecking order.
    — Robert Avery, Houston Chronicle, 1 Sep. 2020
  • But Grealish has slipped down the pecking order in the last two years.
    — Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025
  • Steve Raucci was far from the top of the district pecking order.
    — John Crowley, Harper’s Magazine , 4 Jan. 2022
  • The Cubs are still behind eight other teams in the pecking order.
    — Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2026
  • Those above and below him on the pecking order have to wear this failure of a season, as well.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 16 Sep. 2024
  • Nolan was no better than third in the quarterback pecking order for the first three weeks of camp.
    — oregonlive, 12 Sep. 2021
  • The system doesn’t just damage those at the bottom of the pecking order.
    — Chris Hewitt, Star Tribune, 9 Oct. 2020
  • Even with the loss of Adam, the Padres’ pecking order in late-and-close games is clear.
    — Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Beane would not say where Allen fell in the quarterback pecking order.
    — Peter King, SI.com, 27 Apr. 2018
  • Popovich has been pleased with how Vassell had adapted to his new place in the pecking order.
    — Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 3 Mar. 2022
  • The game moves quickly at the big league level, both between the lines and in a team’s pecking order.
    — Jesse Yomtov, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2023
  • Newland, the lead defendant, was the chief of staff — third in the fleet’s pecking order.
    — Kristina Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Mar. 2022
  • But as head coach Bryan Harsin has said, there’s still some sort of pecking order, if not a depth chart.
    — Giana Han, al, 6 Apr. 2021
  • Prior to the shortage, the process of a building a car likened a pyramid with a strict pecking order.
    — Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 2 Feb. 2022
  • But the pecking order seems likely to change again with the production ramp in Berlin.
    — Stephen Wilmot, WSJ, 22 Mar. 2022
  • And while the pecking order behind him on the leaderboard changed, the result wasn’t going to.
    — Jim Alexander, Orange County Register, 19 Jan. 2025
  • The pecking order of capitalism favors the few at the very top.
    — Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Bon Appetit Magazine, 14 Apr. 2026
  • This has led to a broader shift in the innovation pecking order.
    — Oisín Hanrahan, Fortune, 28 Jan. 2026
  • The busy schedule, and Goepper’s pecking order in the group, wore on his psyche.
    — Sean Gregory, Time, 18 Feb. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pecking order.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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