hierarchy

Universal Words noun (plural hierarchies) 1 [C,U] a system, especially in a society or an organization, in which people are organized into different levels of importance from highest to lowest: the social / political hierarchy * She's high up in the management hierarchy. 2 [C+sing./pl.v.] the group of people in control of a large organization or institution 3 [C] (formal) a system that ideas or beliefs can be arranged into: a hierarchy of needs