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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

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. 2023

How to use short order in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for short order

short order

noun
mainly US and Canadian
  1. food that is easily and quickly prepared
  2. (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

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.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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