[, ]the different levels at which people or things are organized, depending on how much authority, responsibility or importance they have 等级制度；等级体系◆the highest levels of the corporate hierarchy 公司职级中的最高层◆She's quite high up in the management hierarchy. 她在管理职级的相当高层。
[] the group of people in control of a large organization or institution 统治集团；掌控大型组织或机构的一群人
▸hierarchical /ˌhaɪəˈrɑːkɪkl; NAmE-ˈrɑːrk-/
adjective
◆Most of us work in hierarchical organizations. 我们大多数人在层级制机构中工作。▸hierarchically /ˌhaɪəˈrɑːkɪkli; NAmE-ˈrɑːrk-/