short order

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noun

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

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Origin of short order

First recorded in 1890–95

Words nearby short order

short metre, Short money, short notice, on, short odds, short of, short order, short palmar muscle, short radial extensor muscle of wrist, short-range, short rate, short ribs

Other definitions for short order (2 of 2)

short-order

[ shawrt-awr-der ]

/ ˈʃɔrtˌɔr dər /

adjective

of, relating to, or specializing in short orders: a short-order cook; short-order diner.

performed or supplied quickly: They obtained a short-order divorce decree.

Origin of short-order

First recorded in 1900–05

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use short order in a sentence

Early in 2020, when we still had hope that the spread of Covid-19 would be suppressed in a few weeks or months and we’d be back to our lives in short order, film critics joked about what the 2021 Sundance Film Festival selection would be like.
4 new movies that explore — or predict — a year dominated by a pandemic|Alissa Wilkinson|February 5, 2021|Vox
In short order, he has already become a play caller worthy of the Super Bowl, a vital leader in a league that needs him.
Byron Leftwich is a rising star on a Bucs coaching staff that shows the power of diversity|Adam Kilgore|February 5, 2021|Washington Post
More discoveries in November 2019, January 2020, and April 2020 added up to at least five zero-day vulnerabilities being exploited from the same bug class in short order.
Google says it’s too easy for hackers to find new security flaws|Bobbie Johnson|February 3, 2021|MIT Technology Review
They used GIS to perform the biannual survey and census of homeless people, gathering details on the conditions and needs of 400 people in short order.
Envisioning better health outcomes for all|Jason Sparapani|January 26, 2021|MIT Technology Review

The company became a true industry disruptor in short order, and growth has been swift.
‘Brand tech’ company You & Mr. Jones adds $60M to its Series B|Anthony Ha|January 12, 2021|TechCrunch
As this list shows, punishments typically run to a short-ish jail sentence and/or a moderately hefty fine.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And in order for them to realize their vision, they are willing to use any means.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Our Duty Is to Keep Charlie Hebdo Alive|Ayaan Hirsi Ali|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The precision it took to craft such a cohesive, wholly compelling work over 12 years is nothing short of remarkable.
Oscars 2015: The Daily Beast’s Picks, From Scarlett Johansson to ‘Boyhood’|Marlow Stern|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In short, fatherhood gets little attention in policy debates.
How Good Dads Can Change the World|Gary Barker, PhD, Michael Kaufman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He could order the Justice Department to begin the necessary regulatory work.
Obama’s Pot Policy Is Refer Madness|James Poulos|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
On the thirteenth of the same month they bound to the stake, in order to burn alive, a man who had two religious in his house.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various
Now this setting up of an orderly law-abiding self seems to me to imply that there are impulses which make for order.
Children's Ways|James Sully
Turn away from sin and order thy hands aright, and cleanse thy heart from all offence.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
Dockier, a prominent leader of the Levelers, in the times of the English commonwealth, was shot by order of the government.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
Yet if there is a measure of untruth in such pretty flatteries, one needs to be superhuman in order to condemn them harshly.
Children's Ways|James Sully

British Dictionary definitions for short order

short order

noun

mainly US and Canadian

food that is easily and quickly prepared
(as modifier)short-order counter

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with short order

short order

Quickly; see in short order.

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.