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telephone order

telephone order

1 1.9
An order for goods or services made by phone
  • noun
  • /ˈtɛlɪˌfoʊn ˈɔrdər/
translation icon : pedido telefónico
  • Many customers prefer to place their telephone order rather than shop in person.
  • mail or telephone order
  • take telephone orders

Examples

  • Similarly, antiemetics, sleeping medications, and sedatives-tranquilizers can precipitate an apneic crisis; therefore, my nurses are instructed never to accept a telephone order for any of these medications from a physician who is not personally acquainted with my particular patient and his or her disease.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Some of the large catalog companies accept telephone orders as well as Internet shoppers.

    Academic text (2010)
  • No telephone orders, please.

    Blog text (11)
  • You can easily make a telephone order for your favorite pizza by calling the restaurant.

  • The company offers discounts for telephone orders placed during the holiday season.

Synonyms

order
vstelephone order
810 1.0

A request for goods or services to be delivered

is placed by speaking to seller rather than by other methods

How Remote

subscription
  • Texting
68 2.9
telephone order
1 1.9
order
810 1.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

telephone + order

The meaning 'an order placed by telephone' is directly and compositionally derived from 'telephone' (by phone) + 'order' (a request for goods/services). This is a straightforward pattern (means of communication + order) that exists cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The phrase telephone order comes from shops and companies taking an order using the telephone. You speak into the phone to ask for goods or services and the seller sends them, so it means 'an order by phone'.