short order

¹ American  

noun

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

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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.

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short order British  

noun

1. 1. food that is easily and quickly prepared

   2. ( as modifier )

      short-order counter

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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.

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Etymology

Origin of short order¹

First recorded in 1890–95

Origin of short-order²

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Becoming the No. 1 LNG exporter in the world in relative short order is thanks in large part to U.S. shale production that went into overdrive in the mid-2000s.

From MarketWatch

Banks might have to make hard decisions in short order.

From The Wall Street Journal

If that happens in short order—the catalyst could be anything from a private credit fund blowing up to a worsening Iran situation—it would represent a roughly 13% drop in the S&P 500.

From Barron's

“Scrubs” being what it is, the joy returns in short order.

From Salon

Every decade or economic cycle, or so it seems, brings another prognostication, each of which ends up cycling from scary to silly in short order.

From Barron's