open order


nounMilitary.
  1. a troop formation for drill or basic combat training, the intervals between the individuals being greater than those in close order.

Origin of open order

1
First recorded in 1615–25

Words Nearby open order

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use open order in a sentence

  • The ships began to fire at 10.15 and after a quarter of an hour the flower of New Zealand advanced in open order to the attack.

  • The Indian fleet had just entered the Straits of Malacca, and were sailing in open order, with a fresh breeze and smooth water.

    Newton Forster | Captain Frederick Marryat
  • It remains now to compareThe Roman more open order compared with the phalanx.

  • Then with a glance of inquiry at his Captain, who had fallen into a brown study, "Rear rank, take open order!"

    Wandering Heath | Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
  • Then the bridge was reached and crossed, and the command was spreading fan-like into open order.

    The Code of the Mountains | Charles Neville Buck

British Dictionary definitions for open order

open order

noun
  1. military a formation that allows additional space between the ranks of a guard or inspected unit to allow the inspecting officer to pass

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012