Verb
They ordered everyone out of the house.
The soldiers were ordered back to the base.
“Stop! Drop your weapon!” ordered the officer.
The court threw out the conviction and ordered a new trial.
The judge ordered that the charges be dismissed.
He was accused of ordering the murder of his wife.
I ordered the books from the company's website.
The shirt you ordered should arrive in the mail in a couple of days.
To order, call the number at the bottom of your screen. Order now and receive a free gift!Noun
That's an order, not a request!
Failing to comply with an order will result in the loss of your job.
She received an order to appear in court.
They can't close down the school without an order from the governor's office.
The mayor gave an order to evacuate the city.
It's not his fault. He was only following orders.
I'm not taking orders from you! You're not my boss.
The city was evacuated by order of the mayor.
The store received an order for 200 roses this morning.
They had trouble filling large customer orders. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
In the body cam clip, Anderson can be seen running into traffic and asking for help, while officers order him to lie on his stomach and submit to being held down in the road.—Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 21 Jan. 2023 Biden could also order the U.S. Mint to simply strike a $1 trillion coin and deposit the token in the Federal Reserve, creating new funds to make credit payments.—Compiled Democrat-gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 20 Jan. 2023 According to the post, the special vinyl is being released on Thursday (Jan. 19) and BLINKs couldn’t order it fast enough.—Glenn Rowley, Billboard, 19 Jan. 2023 Video shows the man jump to a standing position as officers order him to drop a pair of scissors in his hand.—Perry Vandell, The Arizona Republic, 18 Jan. 2023 After all, the client base for the world’s most exclusive marques had ample time at home to configure their dream cars and then order them.—Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 13 Jan. 2023 But given the value at issue and the absence of prior offenses, a lawyer here said, a judge would likely order him to pay a fine.—Claire Parker, Washington Post, 3 Jan. 2023 And while most people order them in soup, some diners request the dumplings on their own.—Jenn Harriscolumnist, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2022 People order them and 100% of the proceeds go back to the nonprofit.—Kristine M. Kierzek, Journal Sentinel, 8 Dec. 2022
Noun
The buildings are identified by numbers, designated in historical order of construction.—Beverly Gage, The New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2023 The Academy cautions that these are not listed in order of presentation and are subject to change.—Paul Grein, Billboard, 23 Jan. 2023 Following their disbandment by order of an international committee, their treatment back home very much depended on their countries of origin.—WIRED, 23 Jan. 2023 On Friday, by order of the city’s Department of Building Inspection, the owners of the shuttered theater removed the iconic 4-by-14-foot name from the property that has stood neglected two decades.—Nanette Asimov, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 Jan. 2023 Ribosomes, for instance, insert the wrong amino acid into a protein on the order of once every 10 thousand times.—Dan Levitt, Time, 21 Jan. 2023 How would an electric stove appear in a Nancy Meyers movie other than as a sacrilege along the order of linoleum at Versailles?—Ginia Bellafante, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2023 Here’s a look at each of them, listed in order of their national ranking according to 247 Sports.—Dallas News, 20 Jan. 2023 As the lore goes, the rabbit was among the 12 animals who raced to the Jade Emperor in a cosmic contest that ultimately determined the order of the Chinese zodiac signs.—Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 20 Jan. 2023 See More
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'order.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English, from ordre, noun
Noun
Middle English, from Anglo-French ordre, from Medieval Latin & Latin; Medieval Latin ordin-, ordo ecclesiastical order, from Latin, arrangement, group, class; akin to Latin ordiri to lay the warp, begin
: an order from a court or quasi-judicial tribunal to stop engaging in a particular activity or practice (as an unfair labor practice) compare injunction, mandamus, stay
—consent order
: an agreement of litigating parties that by consent takes the form of a court order
—final order
: an order of a court or quasi-judicial tribunal which leaves nothing further to be determined or accomplished in that forum except execution of the judgment and from which an appeal will lie
—gag order
: an order barring public disclosure or discussion (as by the involved parties or the press) of information relating to a case
—order to show cause
: an order requiring the prospective object of a legal action to show cause why that action should not take place
called alsoshow cause order
—pretrial order
: a court order setting out the rulings, stipulations, and other actions taken at a pretrial conference
—protection order
: restraining order in this entry
—protective order
: an order issued for the protection of a particular party: as
a: an order that limits, denies, or defers discovery by a party in order to prevent undue embarrassment, expense, oppression, or disclosure of trade secrets
b: restraining order in this entry
—qualified domestic relations order
: an order, decree, or judgment that satisfies the criteria set out in section 414 of the Internal Revenue Code for the payment of all or part of individual pension, profit sharing, or retirement benefits usually to a divorcing spouse (as for alimony or child support)
Note:
The alienation or assignment of funds under a qualified domestic relations order does not affect the tax status of the plan from which such funds are paid.
—restraining order\ri-ˈstrā-niŋ- \
: temporary restraining order in this entry
: an order of a specified duration issued after a hearing attended by all parties that is intended to protect one individual from violence, abuse, harassment, or stalking by another especially by prohibiting or restricting access or proximity to the protected partyexcluded from the home by a restraining order issued because of domestic violence
called alsoprotection order, protective order
compare temporary restraining order in this entry
—show cause order
: order to show cause in this entry
—temporary restraining order
: an order of brief duration that is issued ex parte to protect the plaintiff's rights from immediate and irreparable injury by preserving a situation or preventing an act until a hearing for a preliminary injunction can be held
: a protective order issued ex parte for a brief period prior to a hearing on a restraining order attended by both parties and intended to provide immediate protection from violence or threatened violence
—turnover order\ˈtər-ˌnō-vər- \
: an order commanding one party to turn over property to another
especially: an order commanding a judgment debtor to turn over assets to a judgment creditor
turnover order in aid of execution—California Code of Civil Procedure
d
: a command issued by a military superior
4
a
: a direction regarding the party to whom a negotiable instrument shall be paid
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