Webster's English Dictionary

Enter the word to look up:

hierarchy

hi.er.ar.chy \'hi--(*-).ra:r-ke-\ n 1: a division of angels  2a: a ruling 
   body of clergy organized into orders or ranks each subordinate  to the one 
   above it; specif : the bishops of a province or nation 2b: church 
   government by a hierarchy  3: a body of persons in authority  4a: 
   arrangement into a graded series  4b: persons or other entities arranged in 
   a series