change order

noun

plural change orders

: a written alteration to a previously signed contract for work (as in construction)

The Alpharetta City Council has approved a $2.9 million change order for the Rucker Road Corridor improvement project, reflecting Roswell's share of the project cost.

—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

also : the new work specified by the change order

Change orders on the first two phases of Red Line construction have exceeded $230 million.

—Mike Davis

Examples of change order in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Just like with the payment schedule, Cosby says that the process for change orders should be spelled out in writing prior to a project starting. — Quincy Bulin, Southern Living, 7 June 2026

Ask vendors to demonstrate how the AI handles an in-flight change order across billing, resources and margin impact in a single scenario, end to end, with no human handoff between systems. — Raju Malhotra, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026

When a contractor wins a bid based on inaccurate or incomplete specs, every discrepancy becomes a change order, and every change order is a windfall paid by the taxpayer with no competitive bidding required. — Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 20 May 2026

One change order alone was for nearly $3 million, according to the civil suit. — Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for change order

• boarder
• border
• corder
• warder
• camcorder
• disorder
• recorder
• reorder
• suborder
• transborder