word order

American  

noun

1. the way in which words are arranged in sequence in a sentence or smaller construction.

   In Latin, word order is freer than in English.

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word order British  

noun

1. the arrangement of words in a phrase, clause, or sentence. In many languages, including English, word order plays an important part in determining meanings expressed in other languages by inflections

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Etymology

Origin of word order

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

Several researchers noted “more short sentences, confused word order, and repetition, alongside extended digressions.”

From Los Angeles Times

The literary term “anastrophe” refers to the technique of reversing word order in a sentence for effect.

From Los Angeles Times

Nordlinger and her colleagues focused on the impact of free word order at a critical moment in forming a sentence.

From Scientific American

It reminds many Lao of the French words “chien Lao,” which when transformed from proper French word order sound like “Lao dog,” a common French slur of the colonial period.

From Washington Post

The eighth-graders still recall the ditties they heard in lower grades about math facts and word orders.

From Washington Times