n.

1. (often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
   
   • the British ships dropped anchor and waited for orders from London
2. a degree in a continuum of size or quantity;
   order of magnitude
   
   • it was on the order of a mile
   • an explosion of a low order of magnitude
3. established customary state (especially of society)
   
   • order ruled in the streets
   • law and order
4. logical or comprehensible arrangement of separate elements;
   ordering, ordination
   
   • we shall consider these questions in the inverse order of their presentation
5. a condition of regular or proper arrangement;
   orderliness
   
   • he put his desk in order
   • the machine is now in working order
6. a legally binding command or decision entered on the court record (as if issued by a court or judge);
   decree, edict, fiat, rescript
   
   • a friend in New Mexico said that the order caused no trouble out there
7. a commercial document used to request someone to supply something in return for payment and providing specifications and quantities;
   purchase order
   
   • IBM received an order for a hundred computers
8. a formal association of people with similar interests;
   club, social club, society, guild, gild, lodge
   
   • he joined a golf club
   • they formed a small lunch society
   • men from the fraternal order will staff the soup kitchen today
9. a body of rules followed by an assembly;
   rules of order, parliamentary law, parliamentary procedure
10. (usually plural) the status or rank or office of a Christian clergyman in an ecclesiastical hierarchy;
    Holy Order, Order
    
    • theologians still disagree over whether `bishop' should or should not be a separate Order
11. a group of person living under a religious rule;
    monastic order
    
    • the order of Saint Benedict
12. (biology) taxonomic group containing one or more families
13. a request for food or refreshment (as served in a restaurant or bar etc.)
    
    • I gave the waiter my order
14. (architecture) one of original three styles of Greek architecture distinguished by the type of column and entablature used or a style developed from the original three by the Romans
15. the act of putting things in a sequential arrangement;
    ordering
    
    • there were mistakes in the ordering of items on the list

v.

1. give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority;
   tell, enjoin, say
   
   • I said to him to go home
   • She ordered him to do the shopping
   • The mother told the child to get dressed
2. make a request for something
   
   • Order me some flowers
   • order a work stoppage
3. issue commands or orders for;
   prescribe, dictate
4. bring into conformity with rules or principles or usage; impose regulations;
   regulate, regularize, regularise, govern
   
   • We cannot regulate the way people dress
   • This town likes to regulate
5. bring order to or into
   
   • Order these files
6. place in a certain order
   
   • order these files
7. appoint to a clerical posts;
   ordain, consecrate, ordinate
   
   • he was ordained in the Church
8. arrange thoughts, ideas, temporal events;
   arrange, set up, put
   
   • arrange my schedule
   • set up one's life
   • I put these memories with those of bygone times
9. assign a rank or rating to;
   rate, rank, range, grade, place
   
   • how would you rank these students?
   • The restaurant is rated highly in the food guide