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Food chain

 - 3 dictionary results

food chain

 
Use Food chain in a Sentence
–noun
1. Ecology. a series of organisms interrelated in their feeding habits, the smallest being fed upon by a larger one, which in turn feeds a still larger one, etc.
2. the chain from a food source to the ultimate consumer.
Origin:
1925–30
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Food chain
food chain  


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n.  

  1. A succession of organisms in an ecological community that constitutes a continuation of food energy from one organism to another as each consumes a lower member and in turn is preyed upon by a higher member.

  2. Informal A competitive hierarchy: "was reduced to character roles while struggling to defend his position in the Hollywood food chain" (Kathryn Shattuck).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

food chain

The series of steps by which energy is obtained, used, and transformed by living things. For example: sunlight helps grain to grow, the grain feeds cattle, and humans eat the cattle.

Note: Harmful chemicals can become concentrated as they move up the food chain.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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