noun

hierarchy

HEYE-uh-rah-kee

noun

A system in which people or things are ranked one above another according to status or authority.

"She quickly climbed the corporate hierarchy."

"The military hierarchy has clear chains of command."

Any set of things ranked so that each one is subordinate to the one above it.

"The document uses a hierarchy of headings to organize the content."

How to Use Hierarchy

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA ranked system, from top to bottom — of people, authority, or ideas.

Common pairings

corporate hierarchy climb the hierarchy a hierarchy of needs

hierarchies plural

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She quickly climbed the corporate _____.

From Ancient Greek "hierarkhía" ("rule of a high priest"), from "hierarkhes" ("high priest"), combining "hieros" ("holy") and "arkho" ("to rule").

anarchy monarchy