- 1 [uncountable, countable] the way in which people or things are placed or arranged in relation to each other The names are listed in alphabetical order. in chronological/numerical order arranged in order of priority/importance/size The results, ranked in descending/ascending order, are as follows: All the procedures must be done in the correct order. Let's take the problems in a different order. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivecorrect, proper, right, … verb + orderchange prepositionin order, in order of, out of order, … See full entry
- 2 [uncountable] the state of being carefully and neatly arranged It was time she put her life in order. The house had been kept in good order. Get your ideas into some sort of order before beginning to write. It is one of the functions of art to bring order out of chaos. opposite disorder (2) Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveapple-pie verb + orderbring, create, impose, … prepositionin order phrasesin good order See full entry controlled state
- 3 [uncountable] the state that exists when people obey laws, rules or authority The army has been sent in to maintain order in the capital. Some teachers find it difficult to keep their classes in order. The police are trying to restore public order. The argument continued until the chairman called them both to order (= ordered them to obey the formal rules of the meeting). compare disorder see also point of order Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivecivil, public verb + orderkeep, maintain, preserve, … prepositionin order, out of order phraseslaw and order, a point of order See full entry instructions
- 4 [countable] something that somebody is told to do by somebody in authority order (for somebody/something to do something) He gave orders for the work to be started. order (to do something) The general gave the order to advance. I'm under orders not to let anyone in. She takes orders only from the president. Dogs can be trained to obey orders. (informal) No sugar for me—doctor's orders. Interest rates can be controlled by order of the central bank. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivedirect, specific, strict, … verb + ordergive, issue, make, … prepositionby order of, on somebody’s orders, under orders from, … phrasesdoctor’s orders, get your marching orders, give somebody their marching orders, … See full entry goods
- 5 [countable, uncountable] order (for something) a request to make or supply goods I would like to place an order for ten copies of this book. an order form The machine parts are still on order (= they have been ordered but have not yet been received). These items can be made to order (= produced especially for a particular customer). see also back order, mail order, pre-order Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivebulk, large, record, … verb + orderplace, put in, send, … order + nounform, book prepositionon order, to order, order for, … See full entry See related entries: Online shopping
- 6[countable] goods supplied in response to a particular order that somebody has placed The stationery order has arrived. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivebulk, large, record, … verb + orderplace, put in, send, … order + nounform, book prepositionon order, to order, order for, … See full entry See related entries: Online shopping food/drinks
- 7 [countable] a request for food or drinks in a restaurant, bar, etc.; the food or drinks that you ask for May I take your order? Last orders at the bar now please! (= because the bar is going to close) an order for steak and fries a side order (= for example, vegetables or salad that you eat with your main dish) Wordfinderrestaurantà la carte, course, cuisine, menu, order, reservation, restaurant, service charge, speciality, waiter CollocationsRestaurantsEating out eat (lunch/dinner)/dine/meet at/in a restaurant go (out)/take somebody (out) for lunch/dinner/a meal have a meal with somebody make/have a reservation (in/under the name of Yamada) reserve/ (especially British English) book a table for six ask for/request a table for two/a table by the windowIn the restaurant wait to be seated show somebody to their table sit in the corner/by the window/at the bar/at the counter hand somebody/give somebody the menu/wine list open/read/study/peruse the menu the restaurant has a three-course set menu/a children’s menu/an extensive wine list taste/sample/try the wine the waiter takes your order order/choose/have the soup of the day/one of the specials/the house (British English) speciality/(especially North American English) specialty serve/finish the first course/the starter/the main course/dessert/coffee complain about the food/the service/your meal enjoy your mealPaying pay/ask for (especially British English) the bill/(North American English) the check pay for/treat somebody to dinner/lunch/the meal service is (not) included give somebody/leave (somebody) a tip Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveside, short, last orders, … verb + ordertake, give somebody prepositionorder for See full entry See related entries: Dining out money
- 8[countable] a formal written instruction for somebody to be paid money or to do something You can cash the order at any post office. see also banker’s order, court order, money order, postal order, standing order system
- 9[countable, usually singular] (formal) the way that a society, the world, etc. is arranged, with its system of rules and customs a change in the political and social order the natural order of things He was seen as a threat to the established order. A new order seems to be emerging. The old order in Europe saw rapid change in the late 1980s. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveestablished, existing, old, … See full entry social class
- 10[countable, usually plural] (disapproving or humorous) a social class the lower orders biology
- 11 [countable] a group into which animals, plants, etc. that have similar characteristics are divided, smaller than a class and larger than a family the order of primates compare genus Wordfinderbreedbreed, class, classification, genus, hybrid, kingdom, order, phylum, species, taxonomy See related entries: Groups of animals religious community
- 12[countable + singular or plural verb] a group of people living in a religious community, especially monks or nuns religious orders the Benedictine order Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivemonastic, religious, contemplative, … See full entry special honour
- 13[countable + singular or plural verb] a group of people who have been given a special honour by a queen, king, president, etc. The Order of the Garter is an ancient order of chivalry.
- 14[countable] a badge or ribbon worn by members of an order who have been given a special honour secret society
- 15[countable + singular or plural verb] a secret society whose members meet for special ceremonies the Ancient Order of Druids Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French ordre, from Latin ordo, ordin- ‘row, series, rank’.Extra examples He accepted that he’d been out of order. He barked out orders as he left. He opened his sealed orders. He was seen as a threat to the established order. His lawyer had to obtain a court order to get access to her client. I think you should change the order of these paragraphs. I’m not to drink any alcohol—doctor’s orders! I’ve listed the tasks in order of priority. I’ve placed an order for the CD. Last orders at the bar now please! My notes are in order. One of the committee members raised a point of order. She attempted to impose some order on the chaos of her files. Some teachers find it difficult to keep their classes in order. That’s a tall order! The accounts were in apple-pie order. The argument continued until the chairman called the meeting to order. The building has had a preservation order slapped on it. The captain gave the order to fire. The chairs can be made to order. The colonel had given orders for the spy’s execution. The company won a $10 million order for oil-drilling equipment. The council’s functions were established by order. The court issued a restraining order against Pearson. The episodes were shown out of order. The house is in good order. The judge made an order for the costs to be paid. The local civilians don’t take orders from the military. The paragraphs are not in a logical order. The ship was to set sail at once, on the admiral’s orders. The waiter came to take their orders. The winners were announced in reverse order. We have a firm order for ten cases of wine. We have a full order book for the coming year. We have ten boxes on order. We’re trying to fill all the back orders. Where am I in the running order? Would it be in order for us to examine the manuscript? a cupboard made to order a new world order a short-order cook a side order of mixed salad a wildlife preservation order arranged in ascending order of size by order of the police kitchen cupboards made to order the pecking order among the hospital staff the top ten groups, in rank order to bring order out of chaos Dogs can be trained to obey orders. Early ideas of democracy were seen as threatening to social order. Get your ideas into some sort of order before you begin to write. He failed to meet four court orders to pay debts of £4 000. I don’t take orders from you! I felt it was time to put my life in order. I’m under orders not to let anyone in. It is our duty to preserve public order. Maintain all equipment in good order. May I take your order? No sugar for me— doctor’s orders. Please fill in the order form and send it to the above address. She always liked creating order out of chaos. The army had been brought in to maintain order in the capital. The complete lack of order in the household made him feel uncomfortable. The information is given in no particular order. The machine parts are still on order. The names are listed in alphabetical order. The purpose of the law was to bring order to the remoter parts of the country. The results will be called in ascending/descending order. They had failed to keep the machine in good running order. Under the court order, she is allowed no contact with him. We got the children to arrange wooden blocks in order of size. We will deal with cases in order of importance.Idioms
- 1 (of an official document) that can be used because it is all correct and legal synonym valid Is your work permit in order?
- 2 (formal) as it should be Is everything in order, sir?
- 3if something is in order, it is a suitable thing to do or say on a particular occasion I think a drink would be in order.
- 1 (of a machine, etc.) not working correctly The phone is out of order.
- 2 not arranged correctly or neatly I checked the files and some of the papers were out of order.
- 3(British English) (North American English out of line) (informal) behaving in a way that is not acceptable or right You were well out of order taking it without asking.
- 4(formal) not allowed by the rules of a formal meeting or debate His objection was ruled out of order.
noun jump to other results
BrE BrE//ˈɔːdə(r)//; NAmE NAmE//ˈɔːrdər//
Groups of animals, Online shopping, Dining outto be/become a priest
(informal) to be very difficult to do
to ask people in a meeting to be quiet so that the meeting can start or continue
(informal) to be ordered to leave a place, a job, etc.
(informal) to order somebody to leave a place, their job, etc.
(formal) allowed according to the rules of a meeting, etc. Is it in order to speak now?
(formal) so that something can happen All those concerned must work together in order that agreement can be reached on this issue.
with the purpose or intention of doing or achieving something She arrived early in order to get a good seat. In order to get a complete picture, further information is needed. Language BankprocessDescribing a process This diagram illustrates the process of paper-making./This diagram shows how paper is made. First/First of all, logs are delivered to a paper mill, where the bark is removed and the wood is cut into small chips. Next/Second, the wood chips are pulped, either using chemicals or in a pulping machine. Pulping breaks down the internal structure of the wood and enables/allows the natural oils to be removed. Once/After the wood has been pulped, the pulp is bleached in order to remove impurities. /…is bleached so that impurities can be removed. The next stage is to feed the pulp into the paper machine, where it is mixed with water and then poured onto a wire conveyor belt. As the pulp travels along the conveyor belt, the water drains away. This causes the solid material to sink to the bottom, forming a layer of paper. At this point the new paper is still wet, so it is passed between large heated rollers, which press out the remaining water and simultaneously dry the paper/…dry the paper at the same time. The final stage is to wind the paper onto large rolls./Finally, the paper is wound onto large rolls.
(especially of machines) working well The engine is now in perfect working order.
quickly and without trouble
a situation in which people obey the law and behave in a peaceful way The government struggled to maintain law and order. After the riots, the military was brought in to restore law and order. They claim to be the party of law and order.
of a high quality or degree; of the highest quality or greatest degree The job requires diplomatic skills of a high order. She was a snob of the first order.
of/in the order of something (British English) (North American English on the order of) jump to other results
common, popular or suitable at a particular time or for a particular occasion Pessimism seems to be the order of the day.
used to remind people to obey the rules of a formal meeting or debate
(informal, often humorous) the order of importance in relation to one another among the members of a group synonym hierarchy New Zealand is at the top of the pecking order of rugby nations. to be first in the pecking order
to organize your own business or improve your own behaviour before you try to criticize somebody else
(of a runner, rider, etc.) waiting for a signal to start a race
Check pronunciation: order
