top of the food chain
TOP uv the FOOD CHAYN
tɒp əv ðə fuːd tʃeɪnListen
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Dictionary meaning
in the most powerful or dominant position in a hierarchy, with no natural rivals or superiors able to challenge one's authority, status, or control; drawn from ecology, where apex predators at the top of trophic chains are not preyed upon by other species and exercise controlling influence over the populations below them; applied to human social hierarchies, to be at the top of the food chain is to be in a position of unchallenged dominance — though the ecological metaphor implies that this position is neither permanent nor free from responsibility, since the removal of apex predators can destabilise entire ecosystems
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