social hierarchy

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Historian Bernard Capp, Emeritus Professor at the University of Warwick, explains that hat etiquette once reinforced social hierarchy.

From Science Daily • May 7, 2026

The country's next national census, scheduled for 2027, will - for the first time in nearly a century - count every caste, a social hierarchy that has long outlived kingdoms, empires and ideologies.

From BBC • Nov. 12, 2025

It becomes “a tool to insert yourself on the social hierarchy and compare yourself to other people, trying to perform for other people, to get the attention of other people.”

From MarketWatch • Nov. 5, 2025

The idea being that caste is a social hierarchy that determines power and status.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 11, 2024

In the social hierarchy of California’s farmers, orange growers stood at the very top; their homes were set amid fragrant evergreen trees that produced a lucrative income.

From "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal" by Eric Schlosser