order

(often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed

• “the British ships dropped anchor and waited for orders from London”

a degree in a continuum of size or quantity

• “it was on the order of a mile”
• “an explosion of a low order of magnitude”

established customary state (especially of society)

• “order ruled in the streets”
• “law and order”

logical or comprehensible arrangement of separate elements

• “we shall consider these questions in the inverse order of their presentation”

a condition of regular or proper arrangement

• “he put his desk in order”
• “the machine is now in working order”

a legally binding command or decision entered on the court record (as if issued by a court or judge)

• “a friend in New Mexico said that the order caused no trouble out there”

a commercial document used to request someone to supply something in return for payment and providing specifications and quantities

• “IBM received an order for a hundred computers”

a formal association of people with similar interests

• “he joined a golf club”
• “they formed a small lunch society”
• “men from the fraternal order will staff the soup kitchen today”

a body of rules followed by an assembly

(usually plural) the status or rank or office of a Christian clergyman in an ecclesiastical hierarchy

• “theologians still disagree over whether”
• “should or should not be a separate order”

a group of person living under a religious rule

• “the order of Saint Benedict”

(biology) taxonomic group containing one or more families

a request for food or refreshment (as served in a restaurant or bar etc.)

• “I gave the waiter my order”

(architecture) one of original three styles of Greek architecture distinguished by the type of column and entablature used or a style developed from the original three by the Romans

putting in order

• “there were mistakes in the ordering of items on the list”

give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority

• “I said to him to go home”
• “She ordered him to do the shopping”
• “The mother told the child to get dressed”

make a request for something

• “Order me some flowers”
• “order a work stoppage”

issue commands or orders for

bring into conformity with rules or principles or usage; impose regulations

• “We cannot regulate the way people dress”
• “This town likes to regulate”

bring order to or into

• “Order these files”

place in a certain order

• “order these files”

appoint to a clerical posts

• “he was ordained in the Church”

arrange thoughts, ideas, temporal events, etc.

• “arrange my schedule”
• “set up one”
• “;”

assign a rank or rating to

• “how would you rank these students?”
• “The restaurant is rated highly in the food guide”