order

noun

• 1the arrangement or disposition of people or things in relation to each other according to a particular sequence, pattern, or method:I filed the cards in alphabetical order
• a state in which everything is in its correct or appropriate place:she tried to put her shattered thoughts into some semblance of order
• a state in which the laws and rules regulating the public behavior of members of a community are observed and authority is obeyed:the army was deployed to keep order
• [with adjective] the overall state or condition of something:the house had just been vacated and was in good order
• a particular social, political, or economic system:if only the peasantry would rise up against the established order the social order of Britain
• the prescribed or established procedure followed by a meeting, legislative assembly, debate, or court of law:the meeting was called to order
• a stated form of liturgical service, or of administration of a rite or ceremony, prescribed by ecclesiastical authority.

• 2an authoritative command, direction, or instruction:he was not going to take orders from a mere administrator [with infinitive]:the skipper gave the order to abandon ship
• an oral or written request for something to be made, supplied, or served:the company has won an order for six tankers
• a thing made, supplied, or served as a result of an oral or written request:orders will be delivered the next business day
• a written direction of a court or judge:a judge’s order forbidding the reporting of evidence
• a written direction to pay money or deliver property.

• 3 (often orders) a social class:the upper social orders
• Biology a principal taxonomic category that ranks below class and above family.
• a grade or rank in the Christian ministry, especially that of bishop, priest, or deacon.
• (orders) the rank or position of a member of the clergy or an ordained minister of a church:he took priest’s ordersSee also holy orders.
• Theology any of the nine grades of angelic beings in the celestial hierarchy.

• 4 (also Order) a society of monks, priests, nuns, etc., living according to certain religious and social regulations and discipline and at least some of whose members take solemn vows:the Franciscan Order
• historical a society of knights bound by a common rule of life and having a combined military and monastic character.
• an institution founded by a monarch for the purpose of conferring an honor or honors for merit on those appointed to it.
• the insignia worn by members of an order of honor or merit.
• a Masonic or similar fraternal organization.

• 5 [in singular] used to describe the quality, nature, or importance of something:with musical talent of this order, von Karajan would have been a phenomenon in any age

• 6any of the five classical styles of architecture (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Tuscan, and Composite) based on the proportions of columns, amount of decoration, etc..
• any style or mode of architecture subject to uniform established proportions.

• 7 [with modifier] Military equipment or uniform for a specified purpose or of a specified type:drill order
• (the order) the position in which a rifle is held after ordering arms. See order arms below.

• 8 Mathematics the degree of complexity of an equation, expression, etc., as denoted by an ordinal number.
• the number of differentiations required to reach the highest derivative in a differential equation.
• the number of elements in a finite group.
• the number of rows or columns in a square matrix.

verb

• 1 [reporting verb] give an authoritative direction or instruction to do something: [with object and infinitive]:she ordered me to leave [with direct speech]:“Stop frowning,” he ordered [with clause]:the court ordered that the case should be heard at the end of August [with object]:her father ordered her back home the judge ordered a retrial
• [with object] (order someone around/about) continually tell someone in an overbearing way what to do.
• [with object and complement] command (something) to be done or (someone) to be treated in a particular way:he ordered the anchor dropped

• 2 [with object] request (something) to be made, supplied, or served:my friend ordered the tickets last week [with two objects]:I asked the security guard to order me a taxi [no object]:Are you ready to order, sir?

• 3 [with object] arrange (something) in a methodical or appropriate way:all entries are ordered by date [as adjectivein combination]: (-ordered)her normally well-ordered life