short-order

[shawrt-awr-der]

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

short order

noun

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

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 of short-order

Before the war I was a short-order cook in Zabadani, which is a beautiful tourist valley in Reef Damashq, near Lebanon.
Former Syrian Soldier Describes Life in the Army at the Start of War
Andrew Slater
September 4, 2013
Can he keep it up, staying abreast of the culture, serving up opinions like a short-order cook?
America's Pop Culture Savant
Taylor Antrim
October 30, 2009

Historical Examples of short-order

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

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

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.).

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.