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
Related Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for food chain
Noun
-
But, on balance, making the semi-finals backed the club hierarchy’s insistence for Alonso to be in place as coach for the tournament.—
Dermot Corrigan,
New York Times,
11 July 2025 -
Maclaren noted that the Babble Effect tends to show up most strongly in unstructured environments without formal hierarchies.—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
11 July 2025
Noun
-
When in a forest, stay in proximity to shorter tree groupings.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
13 July 2025
-
There have been several political groupings called the American Party, or something similar, in U.S. history.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
11 July 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Food chain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/food%20chain. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share