The ranking of group members according to status and/or ability to control or influence events. More generally, a group of persons or things arranged in order of rank, grade, and so on.
A system in which persons or things are in graded ranks. Authority in an organization is usually hierarchical; perhaps the best example is the military. In a hospital, “line authority” illustrates the principle: a floor nurse reports to a head nurse, who in turn reports to the chief of nursing, who in turn reports to the chief executive officer of the hospital who, finally, reports to the governing body. Only a person higher in this series is authorized to “give orders” to a person lower in the series.
The ordering or classification of anything in ascending or descending order of importance, or value in the case of numerical data. For example, the needs of a human being might be listed in order of theoretical importance, e.g., air, water, food, health, protection from the elements and predators, security, esteem, and love.