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# hierarchy

noun (a hierarchy, hierarchies)

«hierarchy» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A system where people or things are arranged in levels, from the most important or powerful at the top to the least at the bottom. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hierarchy/#m1)
2. The people in charge of an organisation, such as a church or company. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hierarchy/#m2)
3. (science, maths) Any ordering of things into levels, like groups inside groups. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hierarchy/#m3)

### In the lessons

In history lessons the feudal system is a hierarchy: king, barons, knights, peasants. In science, classification of living things is a hierarchy (kingdom, class, order, family, genus, species). In church life, «hierarchy» means bishops, priests and deacons. In maths, the order of operations is like a hierarchy. Phrases: at the top of the hierarchy, social hierarchy, a pecking order.

### Examples

- In the feudal hierarchy, the king was at the top. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hierarchy/#x1)
- Wolves in a pack have a hierarchy. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hierarchy/#x2)
- Living things are sorted in a hierarchy from kingdom to species. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hierarchy/#x3)
- The Catholic Church has a hierarchy of bishops and priests. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hierarchy/#x4)
- At school the hierarchy goes from the head teacher to the teachers and assistants. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hierarchy/#x5)
- Chickens have a hierarchy called a pecking order. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hierarchy/#x6)

### Note

Plural: hierarchies. Pronounced HY-uh-rar-kee. Spelling: hier-archy (i before e here). Adjective: hierarchical. Do not confuse with «hieroglyph» (Egyptian picture writing), which starts the same.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «hierarchy» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hierarchy/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«hierarchy» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/hierarchy.html) on Mova free.