call to order

Idioms

Formally open a meeting; also, bid people to obey the rules. For example, The chairman used his gavel to call everyone to order, or The judge called the spectators to order and threatened to make them leave. [Early 1800s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

That led to loud laughter throughout the chamber and a call to order from Rep. Jake Fey, the transportation chair.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 23, 2024

“I now call to order the meeting of the candy,” Teigen says in the video.

From Fox News • Jun. 4, 2019

“This chef doesn’t call to order something,” says Van Geloven.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 10, 2019

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has been reprimanded for ignoring a call to order, and thrown out of parliament by speaker David Carter.

From BBC • May 11, 2016

That’ll do, his general call to order in the days when she believed.

From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023