Category: GeneralPart of speech: verbDifficulty: Intermediate

ordering

/ordering/Roman
US/ˈɔɹdɝɪŋ/
UK/ˈɔːdəɹɪŋ/

English meaning: Ordering

Definition

To set in some sort of order.

Example

“She spent the evening ordering her bookshelves alphabetically.”

Another example: “Ordering the events by date made the timeline much clearer.”

Usage — When, Where & How

Neutral and common; the act of arranging in a sequence (ordering by date), requesting goods (ordering food online), or giving commands. Also a mathematical/logical sense (ordering of elements). Present participle/gerund of 'order'.

Etymology & Origin

English — Origin & History

From Old French 'ordre', from Latin 'ordo' (row, arrangement, order); the gerund use is standard for the verb 'order'.

Synonyms

  • arranging
  • sequencing
  • sorting
  • requesting
  • commanding

Antonyms / Opposites

  • disordering
  • jumbling

Related Words

Common Collocations

  • ordering online
  • ordering food
  • in ascending order
  • ordering system
  • ordering of events
  • reordering

Word Forms

order (v); ordered; orders; ordering; order (n)

Word Tools

3 syllables

Literary Heritage

“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”

/To thine own self be true/

“Be honest with yourself — and as naturally as night follows day, you will be unable to be false to others.”

William Shakespeare · Playwright & Poet · 1564–1616

Hamlet, Act II

Hamlet, II.i — Polonius's parting words to Laertes; the most quoted line in Shakespeare

“I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”

/I'm nobody! Who are you?/

“I am nobody — and that quiet anonymity is more honest than the noise of public fame.”

Emily Dickinson · Poet · 1830–1886

Poems

Poem 288 — Dickinson's subversive celebration of solitude over social recognition

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Language information

Language
English
English
Script
Latin
Family
Indo-European
Speakers
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