order of business

noun phrase

: a matter which must be dealt with : task

The budget was the first order of business at the committee meeting.

Examples of order of business in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For city planners and residents, the first order of business in the early 2000s was to shift the highway traffic to the west and transform First Street into a pedestrian-friendly, two-lane street with wide enough sidewalks to accommodate outdoor dining and landscaped spaces where people can gather. —Martha Ross, Mercury News, 4 June 2026

After being sworn in Friday as Fed chair, Warsh's most pressing order of business will be to rein in rising inflation. —Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 26 May 2026

For this Kerala home in the Indian city of Thrissur, his first order of business was to save the mango tree at the center of the site. —Vaishnavi Nayel Talawadekar, Architectural Digest, 24 May 2026

Guerin’s first order of business — more than likely already taken care of — is deciding whether the free agents currently on the roster, unrestricted and otherwise, are part of the plan moving forward. —John Shipley, Twin Cities, 20 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

order of business (predetermined sequence of matters to be dealt with by an assembly)

First Known Use

circa 1890, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for order of business

• agribusiness
• nonbusiness