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pecking order

noun [C usually singular]
 
 

Definition

an informal social system in which some people or groups know they are more or less important than others: There's a clearly established pecking order in this office. He started as a clerk but gradually rose in the pecking order.Classifying and creating order
(Definition of pecking order noun from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)
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