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short-order

[shawrt-awr-der]
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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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Origin of short-order

First recorded in 1900–05

short order

noun
  1. 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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for short-order

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • But short-order meals are not the thing for regular fare, for in time they will ruin any stomach.

    Woodcraft

    E. H. (Elmer Harry) Kreps

British Dictionary definitions for short-order

short order

noun
  1. mainly US and Canadian
    1. food that is easily and quickly prepared
    2. (as modifier)short-order counter
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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

Word Origin and History for short-order

adj.

of restaurants, from 1897, from adverbial expression in short order "rapidly, with no fuss," from short (adj.) + order (n.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with short-order

short order

1

Quickly; see in short order.

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