order
law and or|der
[N-UNCOUNT]
When there is law and order in a country, the laws are generally accepted and obeyed, so that society there functions normally.
If there were a breakdown of law and order, the army might be tempted to intervene.mail or|der (mail orders)
1 [N-UNCOUNT] oft by N, N n
Mail order is a system of buying and selling goods. You choose the goods you want from a company by looking at their catalogue, and the company sends them to you by post.
The toys are available by mail order from Opi Toys...
2 [N-COUNT] usu pl
Mail orders are goods that have been ordered by mail order. (mainly AM)
I supervise the packing of all mail orders.mon|ey or|der (money orders)
[N-COUNT]
A money order is a piece of paper representing a sum of money which you can buy at a post office and send to someone as a way of sending them money by post. (AM; in BRIT, use postal order)order around
[PHRASAL VERB] V n P, also V P n (not pron)
If you say that someone is ordering you around or is ordering you about, you mean they are telling you what to do as if they have authority over you, and you dislike this. (in BRIT, also use order about)
Grandmother felt free to order her about just as she wished.or|der book (order books)
[N-COUNT]
When you talk about the state of a company's order book or order books, you are talking about how many orders for their goods the company has. (mainly BRIT BUSINESS)
He has a full order book for his boat-building yard on the Thames.♦♦ or|der1 /'ɔːrdər/ (order) SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION USES
1 [PHRASE]
If you do something in order to achieve a particular thing or in order that something can happen, you do it because you want to achieve that thing.
Most schools are extremely unwilling to cut down on staff in order to cut costs.
2 [PHRASE]
If someone must be in a particular situation in order to achieve something they want, they cannot achieve that thing if they are not in that situation.
They need hostages in order to bargain with the government.
3 [PHRASE] CONJ n to-inf
If something must happen in order for something else to happen, the second thing cannot happen if the first thing does not happen.
In order for their computers to trace a person's records, they need both the name and address of the individual.♦♦♦ or|der2 /'ɔːrdər/ (order orders ordering ordered) COMMANDS AND REQUESTS
Please look at category 12 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1 [VERB] V n to-inf, V n prep/adv, V with quote, V n with quote
If a person in authority orders someone to do something, they tell them to do it.
Williams ordered him to leave...
He ordered the women out of the car...
`Let him go!' he ordered...
`Go up to your room. Now,' he ordered him.
= command
2 [VERB] V n, V n to-inf, V that, V n -ed
If someone in authority orders something, they give instructions that it should be done.
The President has ordered a full investigation...
The radio said that the prime minister had ordered price controls to be introduced...
He ordered that all party property be confiscated...
The President ordered him moved because of fears that his comrades would try to free him.
3 [N-COUNT]
If someone in authority gives you an order, they tell you to do something.
The activists were shot when they refused to obey an order to halt...
As darkness fell, Clinton gave orders for his men to rest...
They were later arrested and executed on the orders of Stalin.
= command, instruction
4 [N-COUNT] usu supp N
A court order is a legal instruction stating that something must be done.
She has decided not to appeal against a court order banning her from keeping animals...
He was placed under a two-year supervision order.
5 [VERB] V n, V, V n n
When you order something that you are going to pay for, you ask for it to be brought to you, sent to you, or obtained for you.
Atanas ordered a shrimp cocktail and a salad...
The waitress appeared. `Are you ready to order?'...
We ordered him a beer.
6 [N-COUNT] oft N for n
An order is a request for something to be brought, made, or obtained for you in return for money.
British Rail are going to place an order for a hundred and eighty-eight trains.
7 [N-COUNT] poss N
Someone's order is what they have asked to be brought, made, or obtained for them in return for money.
The waiter returned with their order and Graham signed the bill...
They can't supply our order.
8
see also holy orders, mail order, standing order, standing order
9 [PHRASE] PHR after v, v-link PHR
Something that is on order at a shop or factory has been asked for but has not yet been supplied.
The airlines still have 2,500 new aeroplanes on order.
10 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If you do something to order, you do it whenever you are asked to do it.
She now makes wonderful dried flower arrangements to order...
11 [PHRASE] v-link PHR to-inf
If you are under orders to do something, you have been told to do it by someone in authority.
I am under orders not to discuss his mission or his location with anyone.
12
your marching orders: see march
a tall order: see tall♦♦ or|der3 /'ɔːrdər/ (order orders ordering ordered) ARRANGEMENTS, SITUATIONS, AND GROUPINGS
Please look at category 17 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1 [N-UNCOUNT] also a N, usu with supp, oft in/into N
If a set of things are arranged or done in a particular order, they are arranged or done so one thing follows another, often according to a particular factor such as importance.
Write down (in order of priority) the qualities you'd like to have...
Music shops should arrange their recordings in simple alphabetical order, rather than by category...
2 [N-UNCOUNT]
Order is the situation that exists when everything is in the correct or expected place, or happens at the correct or expected time.
The wish to impose order upon confusion is a kind of intellectual instinct...
Making lists can create order and control.
≠ confusion, chaos
3 [N-UNCOUNT]
Order is the situation that exists when people obey the law and do not fight or riot.
Troops were sent to the islands to restore order last November...
He has the power to use force to maintain public order.
4 [N-SING] with supp
When people talk about a particular order, they mean the way society is organized at a particular time.
The end of the Cold War has produced the prospect of a new world order based on international co-operation...
5 [VERB] be V-ed, V n, V-ed
The way that something is ordered is the way that it is organized and structured.
...a society which is ordered by hierarchy...
We know the French order things differently.
...a carefully ordered system in which everyone has his place.
6 [N-COUNT] with supp, usu of supp N
If you refer to something of a particular order, you mean something of a particular kind. (FORMAL)
Another unexpected event, though of quite a different order, occurred one evening in 1973...
7 [N-COUNT]
A religious order is a group of monks or nuns who live according to a particular set of rules.
...the Benedictine order of monks.
8
see also ordered, law and order, point of order, point of order
9 [PHRASE] PHR after v, v-link PHR
If you put or keep something in order, you make sure that it is tidy or properly organized.
Now he has a chance to put his life back in order...
Someone comes in every day to check all is in order.
10 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
If you think something is in order, you think it should happen or be provided.
Reforms are clearly in order...
11 [PREP-PHRASE] PREP amount
You use in the order of or of the order of when mentioning an approximate figure.
They borrowed something in the order of £10 million...
12 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
If something is in good order, it is in good condition.
The vessel's safety equipment was not in good order.
13 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
A machine or device that is in working order is functioning properly and is not broken.
Only half of the spacecraft's six science instruments are still in working order.
14 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
If a particular way of behaving or doing something is the order of the day, it is very common.
These are strange times in which we live, and strange arrangements appear to be the order of the day.
15 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
A machine or device that is out of order is broken and does not work.
Their phone's out of order.
16 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
If you say that someone or their behaviour is out of order, you mean that their behaviour is unacceptable or unfair. (INFORMAL)
You don't think the paper's a bit out of order in publishing it?
17
to put your house in order: see house
order of magnitude: see magnitudepeck|ing or|der (pecking orders)
[N-COUNT] usu sing
The pecking order of a group is the way that the positions people have are arranged according to their status or power within the group.
He knew his place in the pecking order...point of or|der (points of order)
[N-COUNT] usu sing
In a formal debate, a point of order is an official complaint that someone makes because the rules about how the debate is meant to be organized have been broken. (FORMAL)
A point of order was raised in parliament by Mr Ben Morris...post|al or|der (postal orders)
[N-COUNT]
A postal order is a piece of paper representing a sum of money which you can buy at a post office and send to someone as a way of sending them money by post. (BRIT; in AM, usually use money order)pres|er|va|tion or|der (preservation orders)
[N-COUNT]
In Britain, a preservation order is an official order that makes it illegal for anyone to alter or destroy something such as an old building or an area of countryside.
The entire city is under a preservation order.re|pos|ses|sion or|der (repossession orders)
[N-COUNT]
If a bank or building society issues a repossession order, they officially tell someone that they are going to repossess their home. (BRIT)re|strain|ing or|der (restraining orders)
[N-COUNT]
A restraining order is an order by a court of law that someone should stop doing something until a court decides whether they are legally allowed to continue doing it. (mainly AM LEGAL)
His estranged wife had taken out a restraining order against him.run|ning or|der
[N-SING] usu the N
The running order of the items in a broadcast, concert, or show is the order in which the items will come.
We had reversed the running order.side or|der (side orders)
[N-COUNT]
A side order is an amount of a food that you order in a restaurant to be served at the same time as the main dish.
...a side order of potato salad.so|cial or|der (social orders)
[N-VAR]
The social order in a place is the way that society is organized there.
...the threat to social order posed by right-wing extremists.stand|ing or|der (standing orders)
[N-COUNT] also by N
A standing order is an instruction to your bank to pay a fixed amount of money to someone at regular times. (BRIT)
[N-UNCOUNT]
When there is law and order in a country, the laws are generally accepted and obeyed, so that society there functions normally.
If there were a breakdown of law and order, the army might be tempted to intervene.mail or|der (mail orders)
1 [N-UNCOUNT] oft by N, N n
Mail order is a system of buying and selling goods. You choose the goods you want from a company by looking at their catalogue, and the company sends them to you by post.
The toys are available by mail order from Opi Toys...
2 [N-COUNT] usu pl
Mail orders are goods that have been ordered by mail order. (mainly AM)
I supervise the packing of all mail orders.mon|ey or|der (money orders)
[N-COUNT]
A money order is a piece of paper representing a sum of money which you can buy at a post office and send to someone as a way of sending them money by post. (AM; in BRIT, use postal order)order around
[PHRASAL VERB] V n P, also V P n (not pron)
If you say that someone is ordering you around or is ordering you about, you mean they are telling you what to do as if they have authority over you, and you dislike this. (in BRIT, also use order about)
Grandmother felt free to order her about just as she wished.or|der book (order books)
[N-COUNT]
When you talk about the state of a company's order book or order books, you are talking about how many orders for their goods the company has. (mainly BRIT BUSINESS)
He has a full order book for his boat-building yard on the Thames.♦♦ or|der1 /'ɔːrdər/ (order) SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION USES
1 [PHRASE]
If you do something in order to achieve a particular thing or in order that something can happen, you do it because you want to achieve that thing.
Most schools are extremely unwilling to cut down on staff in order to cut costs.
2 [PHRASE]
If someone must be in a particular situation in order to achieve something they want, they cannot achieve that thing if they are not in that situation.
They need hostages in order to bargain with the government.
3 [PHRASE] CONJ n to-inf
If something must happen in order for something else to happen, the second thing cannot happen if the first thing does not happen.
In order for their computers to trace a person's records, they need both the name and address of the individual.♦♦♦ or|der2 /'ɔːrdər/ (order orders ordering ordered) COMMANDS AND REQUESTS
Please look at category 12 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1 [VERB] V n to-inf, V n prep/adv, V with quote, V n with quote
If a person in authority orders someone to do something, they tell them to do it.
Williams ordered him to leave...
He ordered the women out of the car...
`Let him go!' he ordered...
`Go up to your room. Now,' he ordered him.
= command
2 [VERB] V n, V n to-inf, V that, V n -ed
If someone in authority orders something, they give instructions that it should be done.
The President has ordered a full investigation...
The radio said that the prime minister had ordered price controls to be introduced...
He ordered that all party property be confiscated...
The President ordered him moved because of fears that his comrades would try to free him.
3 [N-COUNT]
If someone in authority gives you an order, they tell you to do something.
The activists were shot when they refused to obey an order to halt...
As darkness fell, Clinton gave orders for his men to rest...
They were later arrested and executed on the orders of Stalin.
= command, instruction
4 [N-COUNT] usu supp N
A court order is a legal instruction stating that something must be done.
She has decided not to appeal against a court order banning her from keeping animals...
He was placed under a two-year supervision order.
5 [VERB] V n, V, V n n
When you order something that you are going to pay for, you ask for it to be brought to you, sent to you, or obtained for you.
Atanas ordered a shrimp cocktail and a salad...
The waitress appeared. `Are you ready to order?'...
We ordered him a beer.
6 [N-COUNT] oft N for n
An order is a request for something to be brought, made, or obtained for you in return for money.
British Rail are going to place an order for a hundred and eighty-eight trains.
7 [N-COUNT] poss N
Someone's order is what they have asked to be brought, made, or obtained for them in return for money.
The waiter returned with their order and Graham signed the bill...
They can't supply our order.
8
see also holy orders, mail order, standing order, standing order
9 [PHRASE] PHR after v, v-link PHR
Something that is on order at a shop or factory has been asked for but has not yet been supplied.
The airlines still have 2,500 new aeroplanes on order.
10 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If you do something to order, you do it whenever you are asked to do it.
She now makes wonderful dried flower arrangements to order...
11 [PHRASE] v-link PHR to-inf
If you are under orders to do something, you have been told to do it by someone in authority.
I am under orders not to discuss his mission or his location with anyone.
12
your marching orders: see march
a tall order: see tall♦♦ or|der3 /'ɔːrdər/ (order orders ordering ordered) ARRANGEMENTS, SITUATIONS, AND GROUPINGS
Please look at category 17 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1 [N-UNCOUNT] also a N, usu with supp, oft in/into N
If a set of things are arranged or done in a particular order, they are arranged or done so one thing follows another, often according to a particular factor such as importance.
Write down (in order of priority) the qualities you'd like to have...
Music shops should arrange their recordings in simple alphabetical order, rather than by category...
2 [N-UNCOUNT]
Order is the situation that exists when everything is in the correct or expected place, or happens at the correct or expected time.
The wish to impose order upon confusion is a kind of intellectual instinct...
Making lists can create order and control.
≠ confusion, chaos
3 [N-UNCOUNT]
Order is the situation that exists when people obey the law and do not fight or riot.
Troops were sent to the islands to restore order last November...
He has the power to use force to maintain public order.
4 [N-SING] with supp
When people talk about a particular order, they mean the way society is organized at a particular time.
The end of the Cold War has produced the prospect of a new world order based on international co-operation...
5 [VERB] be V-ed, V n, V-ed
The way that something is ordered is the way that it is organized and structured.
...a society which is ordered by hierarchy...
We know the French order things differently.
...a carefully ordered system in which everyone has his place.
6 [N-COUNT] with supp, usu of supp N
If you refer to something of a particular order, you mean something of a particular kind. (FORMAL)
Another unexpected event, though of quite a different order, occurred one evening in 1973...
7 [N-COUNT]
A religious order is a group of monks or nuns who live according to a particular set of rules.
...the Benedictine order of monks.
8
see also ordered, law and order, point of order, point of order
9 [PHRASE] PHR after v, v-link PHR
If you put or keep something in order, you make sure that it is tidy or properly organized.
Now he has a chance to put his life back in order...
Someone comes in every day to check all is in order.
10 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
If you think something is in order, you think it should happen or be provided.
Reforms are clearly in order...
11 [PREP-PHRASE] PREP amount
You use in the order of or of the order of when mentioning an approximate figure.
They borrowed something in the order of £10 million...
12 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
If something is in good order, it is in good condition.
The vessel's safety equipment was not in good order.
13 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
A machine or device that is in working order is functioning properly and is not broken.
Only half of the spacecraft's six science instruments are still in working order.
14 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
If a particular way of behaving or doing something is the order of the day, it is very common.
These are strange times in which we live, and strange arrangements appear to be the order of the day.
15 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
A machine or device that is out of order is broken and does not work.
Their phone's out of order.
16 [PHRASE] v-link PHR
If you say that someone or their behaviour is out of order, you mean that their behaviour is unacceptable or unfair. (INFORMAL)
You don't think the paper's a bit out of order in publishing it?
17
to put your house in order: see house
order of magnitude: see magnitudepeck|ing or|der (pecking orders)
[N-COUNT] usu sing
The pecking order of a group is the way that the positions people have are arranged according to their status or power within the group.
He knew his place in the pecking order...point of or|der (points of order)
[N-COUNT] usu sing
In a formal debate, a point of order is an official complaint that someone makes because the rules about how the debate is meant to be organized have been broken. (FORMAL)
A point of order was raised in parliament by Mr Ben Morris...post|al or|der (postal orders)
[N-COUNT]
A postal order is a piece of paper representing a sum of money which you can buy at a post office and send to someone as a way of sending them money by post. (BRIT; in AM, usually use money order)pres|er|va|tion or|der (preservation orders)
[N-COUNT]
In Britain, a preservation order is an official order that makes it illegal for anyone to alter or destroy something such as an old building or an area of countryside.
The entire city is under a preservation order.re|pos|ses|sion or|der (repossession orders)
[N-COUNT]
If a bank or building society issues a repossession order, they officially tell someone that they are going to repossess their home. (BRIT)re|strain|ing or|der (restraining orders)
[N-COUNT]
A restraining order is an order by a court of law that someone should stop doing something until a court decides whether they are legally allowed to continue doing it. (mainly AM LEGAL)
His estranged wife had taken out a restraining order against him.run|ning or|der
[N-SING] usu the N
The running order of the items in a broadcast, concert, or show is the order in which the items will come.
We had reversed the running order.side or|der (side orders)
[N-COUNT]
A side order is an amount of a food that you order in a restaurant to be served at the same time as the main dish.
...a side order of potato salad.so|cial or|der (social orders)
[N-VAR]
The social order in a place is the way that society is organized there.
...the threat to social order posed by right-wing extremists.stand|ing or|der (standing orders)
[N-COUNT] also by N
A standing order is an instruction to your bank to pay a fixed amount of money to someone at regular times. (BRIT)