out of order
Idioms-
Not functioning well, not operating properly or at all, as in The oil burner is out of order again . [Mid-1500s]
-
Unsuitable, inappropriate, as in Her comments about the management were out of order . Also see out of line , def. 1.
-
Not following parliamentary procedure, as in The chair called him out of order .
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.
It’s not a traditional rhythm section, but if anything were out of alignment, it would throw the entire entity out of order.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
And about a third are out of order.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
On Monday Mr. Khanna’s amendment was ruled out of order.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
Burnham has accused the Mail of reporting a "partial version of events" and added: "They were all out of order and, if they had any decency, would now hold their hands up and apologise."
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
“It was an unscheduled landing, completely unexpected. Depending on who you believe, either the radar was out of order briefly while it was landing—or it just appeared. Out of nowhere.”
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
