Jump To:

• short order
  short order

  noun

  a dish or serving of food that is quickly prepared upon request at a lunch counter.
• short-order
  short-order

  adjective

  of, relating to, or specializing in short orders.

short order

¹ American  

noun

1. a dish or serving of food that is quickly prepared upon request at a lunch counter.

---

short-order ² American  

[shawrt-awr-der] / ˈʃɔrtˌɔr dər /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or specializing in short orders.

   a short-order cook; short-order diner.

2. performed or supplied quickly.

   They obtained a short-order divorce decree.

---

short order British  

noun

1. 1. food that is easily and quickly prepared

   2. ( as modifier )

      short-order counter

---

short order Idioms  

1. Quickly; see in short order .

2. An order of food to be prepared and served quickly, as in It's just a diner, serving short orders exclusively . This expression, dating from about 1890, gave rise to the adjective short-order , used not only in short-order cook , a cook specializing in short orders, but in other terms such as short-order divorce , a divorce quickly obtained owing to liberal divorce laws.

---

Etymology

Origin of short order¹

First recorded in 1890–95

Origin of short-order²

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

“I expect a comprehensive report in short order and am confident the outcome will assist in resolving, once and for all, the questions that led this office to issue subpoenas,” Pirro said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

More often than not historically, above-average real rates have been followed in fairly short order by lower nominal rates.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 8, 2026

"And I think it'll be done in short order."

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

This is the stuff that usually ends in short order with a resignation, either of the member’s own volition or at the speaker’s insistence.

From Slate • Feb. 28, 2026

In short order, telegrams began to rattle out of Dix’s office to the chambers of commerce of every city, town, and hamlet in the state.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown