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PlainSpell

order

or·der/ˈoɹ.dɚ/noun, verb

order is spelled O-R-D-E-R: 5 letters and 2 syllables (or·der). It appears 309 times per million words in written English, the 306th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, order means “Arrangement, disposition, or sequence” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of order is orders.

How many letters and syllables are in order?

Letters5: O-R-D-E-R
Syllables2: or·der
In writing309 times per million words; the 306th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is order?

Order appears 309 times per million words in written English, the 306th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce order?

  • UK /ˈɔː.də/
  • US /ˈoɹ.dɚ/
  • US [ˈoɹ.ɾɚ]

Order has 2 syllables, split or·der in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-order.ogg, En-au-order.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of order

  • orders plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • ordering participle, present
  • ordered participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does order mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    Arrangement, disposition, or sequence.

    put the children in age order

  2. 2

    A position in an arrangement, disposition, or sequence.

  3. 3

    The state of being well arranged.

    The house is in order; the machinery is out of order.

  4. 4

    Conformity with law or decorum; freedom from disturbance; general tranquillity; public quiet.

    to preserve order in a community or an assembly

  5. 5

    A command.

    give an order

  6. 6

    A request for some product or service; a commission to purchase, sell, or supply goods.

    make an order

  7. 7

    The goods requested.

    Your order should arrive within two days.

  8. 8

    A group of religious adherents, especially monks or nuns, set apart within their religion by adherence to a particular rule or set of principles.

    St. Ignatius Loyola founded the Jesuit order in 1537.

verb

  1. 1

    To set in some sort of order.

    We need to order them alphabetically.

  2. 2

    To arrange, set in proper order.

    The books in the shelf need ordering.

  3. 3

    To issue a command to; to charge.

    to order troops to advance

  4. 4

    To request some product or service; to secure by placing an order.

    You can now order most products to be delivered to your home.

  5. 5

    To admit to holy orders; to ordain; to receive into the ranks of the ministry.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate order?

Wiktionary records one abbreviation of order: ord.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Order in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchordre (arrangement, disposition), commande (request for some product or service), ranger, ordonner (to set in (any) order), commander (to issue a command)
GermanOrdnung, Reihenfolge (arrangement, disposition), ordnen (to set in (any) order), Order, Befehl, Geheiß (command)
Portugueseordem (arrangement, disposition), encomenda, pedido (request for some product or service), ordenar (to set in (any) order), encomendar, pedir (to request some product or service)
Spanishorden (arrangement, disposition), pedido, comanda (request for some product or service), ordenar, poner en orden (to set in (any) order), mandar (to issue a command)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does order come from?

From Middle English ordre, from Old French ordre, ordne, ordene (“order, rank”), from Latin ōrdinem, accusative of ōrdō (“row, rank, regular arrangement”, literally “row of threads in a loom”), from Proto-Italic *ordō (“to arrange”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂or-d-, from *h₂er-. Related to Latin ōrdior (“begin”, literally “begin to weave”). In sense “request for purchase”, compare bespoke. Doublet of ordo.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after order