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order

order

453 1.5
A state where people follow rules and behave calmly
  • noun
  • /ˈɔrdər/
: orden
  • A monument to Roman law and order.
  • social order
  • maintain order
  • law and order

I'm the good guy and the world order was the bad guys.

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Examples

  • You know, we have law and order and justice.

  • I'm responsible for order in here.

  • Oh, yes, it takes quite a few of them to keep order around here.

  • I am the law and order candidate.

  • Besides, police work gives him a sense of order.

  • And so you might say, well, order keeps chaos under control.

  • Every human society must establish order if it is going to survive and prosper.

    Academic text (2008)
  • The superior court also enacted measures designed to restore law and order throughout the war-torn county.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Our study examines these claims in terms of urban renewal and public order programs on Rio's beachfronts.

    Academic text (2012)
  • The community worked together to maintain peace and order during the festival.

Synonyms

civil order
vsorder
1 4.4

The way a society is organized and kept peaceful

is the social condition where rules are followed and people behave correctly

Antonyms

512 3.1

A situation with no order where people are confused and cannot act normally

85 6.5

A situation with no government and much disorder

disorder
  • Literature
19 4.1

A time of public unrest that breaks normal order

Idioms

344 1.6

Neatly arranged and ready to use

57 2.1

Not working so you cannot use it, like a machine or toilet

Very quickly without delay

Arrange your personal, money, and legal matters before illness or death

1 7.7

Neat and well organized like a tidy room

Getting your home and things tidy and ready

Compounds

court order
  • Formal
135 3.5

An official instruction from a court telling someone to do or stop doing something

40 2.1

Buying things from a catalog and having them sent to your home

A list of items to deal with in a meeting

order of magnitude
  • Specialized
23 5.9

A way to compare how big things are by ten times bigger or smaller

20 5.6

The regular way the physical world follows rules not made by people

gag order
  • Literature
18 7.2

A court rule that stops people from talking about a case to the public

tall order
  • Informal
17 6.9

A task that is very hard to do

14 4.2

How people in a group are arranged by who has more power or status

14 2.8

A paper you buy at a bank or post office that pays a named person a set amount

11 4.2

A rule for meetings or groups that stays in force until changed

9 6.3

A question raised in a formal meeting to show someone may have broken the rules

The main thing people are doing or talking about at a time

8 3.9

Meals that cooks make and serve quickly in places like diners

8 3.4

A request for a quick simple meal in a diner

7 3.2

A written document from a buyer to a seller that lists items, how many of each, and the agreed prices

A group of people who live together, follow special rules, and focus on prayer or service

Created for a customer to match their requests

7 2.7

A small extra dish served with the main meal

6 2.0

A printed or online page you fill to ask for goods and services

5 3.5

An order for goods not in stock that are sent later

postal order
  • Archaic
5 4.8

A paper note bought at a post office that lets a named person collect money

4 2.9

A list of team players showing when each will bat during a game

4 7.9

A court order telling someone to stop a certain action

3 3.9

A list of people or things arranged from most to least important

3 7.4

A religious ceremony that makes someone a priest or minister

3 6.4

A task that is very hard to do

2 2.3

A food or drink brought to you by mistake instead of what you ordered

2 4.3

Agreed steps for running a meeting fairly

An order for goods or services made by phone

word order
  • Specialized
2 1.6

The way words are put in a sentence to show who does what

A way to arrange tasks by how important or urgent they are

2 8.7

A Protestant group in Northern Ireland that holds yearly parades celebrating union with Britain

1 4.4

The way a society is organized and kept peaceful

1 3.5

An order to get goods or services now and pay later

market order
  • Specialized
1 3.6

A request to buy or sell shares immediately at the current price through a broker

1 3.4

A book where a shop writes customers' orders and makes copies for records

A request to buy food and household items for delivery or pick up

1 6.3

A group of Roman Catholic priests and brothers who work in education and missions

Religious people in the Catholic Church who live simply and help the poor, following Saint Francis

1 8.1

An official order that stops a person or group from doing certain things

A book of rules for running meetings and making group decisions

A list of things a meeting will discuss that day

1 7.6

A printed list of items to be discussed in a parliament or assembly that day

stop order
  • Specialized
1 5.8

An instruction to sell or buy shares at a set price to limit losses and protect gains

A community of monks or nuns who live together under religious rules

apple-pie order
  • Informal
1 8.4

A place or situation where things are very clean and neatly arranged

stop-loss order
  • Specialized
1 5.8

An instruction to automatically sell shares when their price falls to a set level to limit loss

order arms
  • Jargon
1 8.6

A command ordering soldiers to hold a rifle vertically at their right side with the end touching the ground

How events follow each other in time

A group of Catholic priests and brothers who follow Saint Dominic and are known for teaching and missionary work

1 3.4

A unique code of letters and numbers for tracking a customer's purchase

A United States military medal that is given to service members wounded or killed in combat

open order
  • Specialized
1 8.0

Soldiers standing with wide spaces between ranks so an officer can walk between them for inspection

close order
  • Specialized
1 7.4

A tight group of soldiers standing or marching together for drill

1 4.2

An official instruction to start making a specific product or amount

A British military medal given to officers for brave service in battle

A group of Catholic monks and priests who follow Saint Augustine's teachings

order Rodentia
  • Specialized
1 6.7

A group of mammals like rats, mice, and squirrels

A group of Roman Catholic people who live together and focus on quiet prayer

order Coleoptera
  • Specialized
1 9.1

A large group of insects that are beetles with hard front wings covering their flying wings

order Chiroptera
  • Specialized
1 8.1

A group of mammals that includes all bats, like fruit bats and insect-eating bats

close-order drill
  • Specialized
1 8.4

Soldiers march shoulder to shoulder in a set formation for parades

A Roman Catholic group of religious people who live in monasteries and pray and study

animal order
  • Specialized
1 5.8

A group of related animals larger than a family and smaller than a class

order book
  • Formal
1 4.1

A list of activities planned for a meeting that shows their order

order Carnivora
  • Specialized
1 5.6

A large group of mammals like cats, dogs, and bears

daily order
  • Formal
1 7.1

An instruction that a military leader gives every day to people under their command

order Anura
  • Specialized
1 8.8

A group of animals that includes all frogs and toads

marching order
  • Specialized
1 6.3

The equipment and uniform soldiers wear when they march

order Caudata
  • Specialized
1 8.6

A group of amphibians like salamanders and newts with long tails

order Embioptera
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A group of insects that spin silk with their front legs to make small tunnels

Ionic order
  • Specialized
1 9.3

A Greek column style with spiral scrolls on top

order Ephemeroptera
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A group of insects like mayflies with thin transparent wings and young that live in water

How Ordered

stability
283 3.1
peace
  • Formal
74 1.0
order
453 1.5
disorder
22 3.7
anarchy
85 6.5

Surface Forms

order singular
orders plural

Etymology

The noun order meaning a calm, rule-following state comes from Latin ordo 'rank' and 'arrangement'; that's why restoring order means bringing people and rules back into their proper place.