A hierarchy is a system of organizing people into different ranks or levels of importance, for example in society or in a company.
Like most other American companies with a rigid hierarchy, workers and managers hadstrictly defined duties.
She rose up the Tory hierarchy by the local government route.
Even in the desert there was a kind of social hierarchy.
Synonyms: grading, ranking, social order, pecking order More Synonyms of hierarchy
2. countable noun [with singular or plural verb]
The hierarchy of an organization such as the Church is the group of people who manage and control it.
3. countable noun
A hierarchyof ideas and beliefs involves organizing them into a system or structure.
[formal]
The notion of 'cultural imperialism' implies a hierarchy of cultures, some of whichare stronger than others. [+ of]
hierarchy in British English
(ˈhaɪəˌrɑːkɪ)
nounWord forms: plural-chies
1.
a system of persons or things arranged in a graded order
2.
a body of persons in holy orders organized into graded ranks
3.
the collective body of those so organized
4.
a series of ordered groupings within a system, such as the arrangement of plants and animals into classes, orders, families, etc
5. linguistics, mathematics
a formal structure, usually represented by a diagram of connected nodes, with a single uppermost element
Compare ordering, heterarchy, tree (sense 6)
6.
government by an organized priesthood
Derived forms
hierarchical (ˌhierˈarchical) or hierarchic (ˌhierˈarchic)
adjective
hierarchically (ˌhierˈarchically)
adverb
hierarchism (ˈhierˌarchism)
noun
Word origin
C14: from Medieval Latin hierarchia, from Late Greek hierarkhia, from hierarkhēs high priest; see hiero-, -archy
hierarchy in American English
(ˈhaɪərˌɑrki)
nounWord forms: pluralˈhierˌarchies
1.
a system of church government by priests or other clergy in graded ranks
2.
the group of officials, esp. the highest officials, in such a system
3.
a group of persons or things arranged in order of rank, grade, class, etc.
Word origin
altered (modeled on Gr) < ME ierarchie < OFr jerarchie < ML(Ec) hierarchia < LGr(Ec), power or rule of a hierarch < Gr hierarchēs: see hierarch
COBUILD Collocations
hierarchy
church hierarchy
strict hierarchy
Examples of 'hierarchy' in a sentence
hierarchy
Wearing unsuitable clothes was an implicit rejection of the hierarchy that controlled society.
Lucy Moore Liberty: The Lives and Times of Six Women in Revolutionary France (2006)
The sharpest writing is found in evaluations of social hierarchies and disgusted descriptions of squalor and dirt.
The Times Literary Supplement (2013)
The biggest obstacle it faces is the strict hierarchy in many offices.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
It definitely teaches you about group dynamics and hierarchy.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The military hierarchy claims that it would undermine the chain of command.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
There is no defined hierarchy or pay structure.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
It may be that formal hierarchies still work for most of us.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Did new trades have a hierarchy like the old crafts?
Hyland, Paul Indian Balm - Travels in the Southern Subcontinent (1994)
The explanation given for this has been that people lower down a social hierarchy suffer more stress.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Monarchy makes sense in a world where younger servants learn from older servants in a strict hierarchy.
Diane Purkiss The English Civil War: A People's History (2006)
The attempted takeover seems to have sprung from the lower strata of the military hierarchy.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Structure and hierarchy are key and you have to jump through official hoops to get things signed off.
The Sun (2015)
Rising stars are unrecognised individuals who occupy key positions in the informal network but not in the formal hierarchy.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
All human society is a hierarchy.
Zindell, David The Broken God (1993)
Local hierarchies, clergy and people have no say in the matter.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Its adherents preached opposition to dictators and criticised the Church hierarchy for being too close to those in power.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
You could say that his fractured and frenetic choreography is the exact opposite of classical dance, with its rigid technical hierarchy and logical determination.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
A big part of what drives the duo to move so fast is the idea that there is no hierarchy established in this space.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
It's time to choose between them, or at least establish a hierarchy.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
He held an awkward and newly minted role in the hierarchy of society - a common servant, but also a star.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Quotations
We rank ourselves by the familiar dog system, a ladderlike social arrangement wherein one individual outranks all others,the next outranks all but the first, and so on down the hierarchyElizabeth Marshall ThomasStrong and Sensitive Cats
In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetenceLaurence PeterThe Peter Principle
In other languages
hierarchy
British English: hierarchy NOUN
A hierarchy is a system of organizing people into different ranks or levels of importance, for example in society or in a company.
Like most other companies with a rigid hierarchy, workers and managers had strictly defined duties.
American English: hierarchy
Brazilian Portuguese: hierarquia
Chinese: 等级制度
European Spanish: jerarquía
French: hiérarchie
German: Hierarchie
Italian: gerarchia
Japanese: 階層性
Korean: 위계질서
European Portuguese: hierarquia
Latin American Spanish: jerarquía
(noun)
Definition
a system of people or things arranged in a graded order
Even in the desert there was a kind of social hierarchy.
Synonyms
grading
ranking
social order
pecking order
class system
social stratum
Quotations
We rank ourselves by the familiar dog system, a ladderlike social arrangement wherein one individual outranks all others, the next outranks all but the first, and so on down the hierarchy [Elizabeth Marshall Thomas – Strong and Sensitive Cats]In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence [Laurence Peter – The Peter Principle]