First recorded in 1900–05
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
RH said revenue was hurt by about $45 million tied to higher backorder and special order balances, which were about $75 million higher than the year-ago period due to tariff-related resourcing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
A source close to the government confirmed to BBC Afghan that the internet is back by special order of the Taliban prime minister.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2025
In the summer last year, Lucio Olmos Morales, the artisan who weaves vanilla on his porch, received a special order.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2024
The special order requests documents and explanations by Aug. 25 to help with NHTSA's inquiry.
From Reuters ● Aug. 29, 2023
He took the chess set, and there before the fire he arranged the pieces in their special order.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
He said he was most worried about potential delivery days for special-order bridal gowns for November and December weddings.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2024
Even better, the frozen line includes a “cocktail” manoushe, a half-za’atar and half-cheese flatbread that’s available only as a special-order item at the store.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 5, 2022
No thermometer, no special-order invert sugars, no fancy molds.
From Slate ● Dec. 18, 2018
The fancy disposable fountain pens I had to special-order from art stores were there, as were newly released books, magazine subscriptions, and shampoo.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 12, 2018
Beebi's gym suit was even a different color from everybody else's, like they'd had to special-order it for her.
From "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
