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to order

to order

5 3.7
To make people follow rules
  • verb
  • /ˈɔrdər/
: ordenar
  • Bevin's attorney, Steve Pitt, noted that the ruling orders the circuit court to dismiss the case.
  • court-ordered
  • President ordered
  • state ordered

Examples

  • And because there's no proof that the money came from an illegal source, I order that their change be given back to them.

  • Catherine Ruffin switched on the recorder and called the meeting to order when Livermore arrived.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • I'm going to order the test.

  • You ordered me to destroy this mold.

  • The school district was ordered to provide private tutoring services to the child as compensatory education services.

    Academic text (2013)
  • Fiechter, nevertheless, sealed the display case and ordered that the sculpture not be removed from the premises.

    Academic text (1991)
  • The Court also endorsed public safety as a basis for ordering the pretrial detention of some defendants.

    Academic text (2017)
  • The manager ordered the team to follow the new guidelines for safety procedures.

  • The principal ordered all students to attend the assembly to discuss school policies.

  • After the meeting, the supervisor ordered changes to the project plan to meet the deadline.

Synonyms

to impose
vsto order
  • Formal
367 4.2

Officially order people to obey a rule or pay money

is more general not limited to demanding payments or penalties
to regulate
vsto order
209 3.4

To control something using rules or laws

stresses bringing things into conformity by authoritative imposition
to decree
vsto order
  • Formal
36 5.3

To order something officially by a government or official

is broader covering general control and making things conform
to ordain
vsto order
  • Formal
13 6.9

To officially order something, usually by law or authority

covers general regulation and conformity beyond strictly legal commands
to interdict
vsto order
  • Formal
2 9.4

To stop someone or something by an official order

is more general applying to overall control and bringing into conformity
to regularize
vsto order
2 6.4

To make something follow rules or standards

also involves actively imposing rules or control
to regiment
vsto order
1 7.7

To control people strictly with many rules

is broader, meaning control or conformity without such strictness
to issue a ukase
vsto order
  • Formal
9.9

To give a strict official order that people must follow

is less absolute and more about ongoing regulation and control

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

Phrasal Verbs

24 3.8

Made for a customer to their exact instructions

13 3.9

To officially start a meeting by asking people to be quiet

To ask a store to send goods that are out of stock when they arrive

1 7.8

To hit a small wooden hammer to start a meeting

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

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 Controlling

to dictate
215 5.0
to control
∞ 2.4
to command
312 2.7
to order
5 3.7
to regulate
209 3.4

Surface Forms

order infinitive
ordered past
ordered past participle
ordering present participle
orders third person singular

Etymology

The verb order meaning to impose rules comes from Latin ordinare 'to set in order'; to order behaviour is to make people follow a set plan or rule.