Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to gavel to order

to gavel to order

1 7.8
To hit a small wooden hammer to start a meeting
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈɡævəl tə ˈɔrdər/
  • Formal
translation icon : dar inicio
  • As soon as the committee chair arrived, he gaveled to order the meeting and welcomed everyone.

Examples

  • The mayor will gavel to order the city council meeting at 7 PM to discuss new regulations.

  • Instead, the GOP will briefly gavel the gathering to order Monday afternoon and then recess until Tuesday.

    Blog text (22)

  • Before we start the debate, let me gavel to order this session so we can begin.

Synonyms

to call to order
vsto gavel to order
  • Formal
6 3.9

To officially start a meeting by asking people to be quiet

relies on striking a small hammer to start proceedings rather than just announcing them
to gavel
vsto gavel to order
3 6.2

To use a small wooden hammer to call a meeting to order or to end it

is only about starting a meeting by striking that small hammer

Antonyms

to adjourn
  • Formal
81 5.3

Stop a meeting for a short time to continue later

Surface Forms

gavel to order infinitive
gaveled to order past
gaveled to order past participle
gaveling to order present participle
gavels to order third person singular

Morphology

gavel + to + order

The meaning 'to officially start a meeting by striking a gavel' is directly derivable from the constituent meanings: 'gavel' (to bring/start/end meetings by striking) and 'order' (a state of proper conduct). The particle 'to' here marks the target/purpose, so the overall composition is straightforward and would be understandable to a learner who knows the parts.

Etymology

Gavel to order comes from the image of a person hitting a small hammer called a gavel to bring a meeting into order. So, it means 'to officially start' a meeting.