marching orders

plural noun

: authoritative orders or instructions especially to set out on or as if on a march

Examples of marching orders in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
New research suggests some people are defying their bosses’ marching orders even as the job market cools and job anxieties mount. Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025 So the Klan of the 1920s was not only anti-Black and anti-Asian, but equally anti-Catholic, antisemitic, and anti-Slav – all groups from the wrong side of Europe’s tracks that took their marching orders from Rome or Moscow. Jody Mamone, Hartford Courant, 15 Aug. 2025 My marching orders from Baker-Porazinski: strength training at least twice weekly; boosting my daily intake of calcium and vitamin D; and scheduling another DEXA scan in a year to see my progress. Blane Bachelor, AFAR Media, 29 July 2025 Hamill plays a man only known as the Major, the military commander who oversees the Walk and gives the walkers their literal marching orders. Adam B. Vary, Variety, 26 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for marching orders

Word History

First Known Use

1714, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of marching orders was in 1714

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Marching orders.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marching%20orders. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!