food chain

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Noun 1.1.1 Usage notes 1.1.2 Related terms 1.1.3 Translations

[edit] English

Wikipedia

[edit] Noun

food chain (plural food chains)

1. The feeding relationships between species in a biotic community.
2. (idiomatic) a hierarchy

   With my promotion this month I will continue my steady journey to the top of the food chain.

[edit] Usage notes

Because the concept of the food chain implies a feeding hierarchy proceeding upwards to a top predator, modern ecologists usually prefer the term food web, since that term allows for a more complicated system of interactions.

[edit] Related terms

• food web
• trophic level

[edit] Translations