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
-
Because there’s something about the college environment that really inculcates hierarchy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 May 2026 -
The club’s hierarchy have stood behind Slot throughout the campaign and the head coach can point to a number of mitigating factors as to why this season has been so disappointing.—
Andy Jones,
New York Times,
25 May 2026
Noun
-
Another photo taken from the moon’s surface appears to show a grouping of three small dots in the sky, with a transcript of communications between Apollo 17 operators revealing an exchange over the unknown objects.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
19 May 2026
-
When in a forest, stay in proximity to shorter tree groupings.—
STAR-TELEGRAM WEATHER BOT,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
19 May 2026
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 27 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
