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food chain

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: foodchain

English

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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food chain (plural food chains)

  1. The feeding relationships between species in a biotic community.
    Coordinate term: food web (an alternative metaphor often considered more apt)
    • 2013 February 6, Stephanie Strom, “Study Looks at Particles Used in Food”, in The New York Times[1], →ISSN:
      Nanomaterials, substances broken down by technology into molecule-size particles, are starting to enter the food chain through well-known food products and their packaging, but there is little acknowledgment by the companies using them, according to a new report from a nonprofit group that works to enhance corporate accountability.
  2. (idiomatic) A hierarchy.
    With my promotion this month I will continue my steady journey to the top of the food chain.
    • 1998, Luke Sullivan, "Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This": A Guide to Creating Great Ads, page 164:
      He, too, was a meat puppet. Unable to make any decision without imagined repercussions from above, he chose to make none and instead passed his decision onto the next guy up the food chain.
    • 2012, Renee Pires, Day Trips from Philadelphia, page 43:
      At the top of the food chain is PJ's, whose pizza wins high accolades, and whose menu of fat sandwiches (a local delicacy that stuffs as many deep-fried items into a roll as possible) is extensive.

Usage notes

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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.

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Translations

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See also

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