upper echelon
Highest ranking group
The upper echelon is the highest level of an organization or social hierarchy—the people with the most power, status, or authority.
She rose to the upper echelon of corporate management.
The phrase often implies exclusivity and distance from ordinary members: Decisions made in the upper echelons rarely reflect what workers experience.
- ruling classDominant governing stratum
- eliteSuperior select group
- inner circleExclusive group of confidants
- inner sanctumInnermost private place
- old moneyLong-established family fortune
aristocracy · authority · nobility · crème de la crème · rarefied · top brass · movers and shakers · director · oligarchy · CEO · executive · board member · patrician · country club · bourgeoisie · pecking order · president · leadership
- eliteelite, elites, aristocrats, nobility, best
- ranksrank and file, enlisted ranks, tier one, officer rank, tier two
- top tierelite, premier, premium, prime, best
- Exclusivityexclusive, elite, VIP, members-only, private
upper echelonrank and file
Ordinary members collectively
bottom rung · ground level · subordinates · foot soldiers · underlings
upper echelonlower class
Lowest socioeconomic stratum
underclass · working class · the poor · common people · hoi polloi
upper, hierarchy, echelon, upped, uppermost, upping, uppercut, echelons, upperclassman