verbal noun from peck (v.), late 14c. As a behavior among hens, pecking order (1928) translates German hackliste (T.J. Schjelderuo-Ebbe, 1922); transferred sense of "human hierarchy based on rank or status" is from 1955.
实用例句
1. They both came from families fairly far down the social pecking order.
他们两个都来自社会最底层的家庭。来自柯林斯例句
2. He knew his place in the pecking order.
他知道自己排老几。来自柯林斯例句
3. A robin was pecking at crumbs on the ground.
一只知更鸟在地上啄食面包渣。来自《权威词典》
4. It was winter and the sparrows were pecking at whatever they could find.
时值冬季，麻雀啄食着能够找到的任何东西。来自辞典例句
5. She is pecking away at the keys of a typewriter.
