From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishchain of commandˌchain of comˈmand noun [countable] DECIDEa system in an organization by which decisions are made and passed from people at the top of the organization to people lower down Symonds is third in the chain of command.
Examples from the Corpus
chain of command• What is the convoluted chain of command?• He was only doing what he was told by some one higher up in an endless chain of command.• The organisation is a hierarchy, with a formal chain of command.• Informed by the two farmers, local authorities passed the information up the chain of command.• This can be done through anonymous individual written evaluations, submitted to the supervisor and then on up the chain of command. 