working order

noun

1. the condition of a mechanism when it is functioning properly:

   a stove in working order.

Word History and Origins

Origin of working order¹

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

He wants to know everything fits and is in working order and that there isn’t too much of it.

From Outside Online

Only 26 of the country’s 185 hospitals had oxygen plants, local media reported at the end of April, and of those not all were in working order.

From Time

They had complaints about the condition of the school even before the pandemic, of mold in the basement, that bathrooms were dirty, and that heating and cooling systems were not in working order.

From Washington Post

Still, care should be taken to make sure the battery stays in good working order, discarding and replacing if it becomes damaged.

From Popular-Science

Like the Hubble Deep Field, if all is in working order, adding those galaxies to the census should give us an even clearer picture of the whole.

From Singularity Hub 

The spinal cord controls muscles so everything else is in working order.

From The Daily Beast

The one Penny Arcade machine in working order at the bank that night has seen better days.

From The Daily Beast

But the institutions of modern society are not in working order.

From The Daily Beast

Detailed legal codes and processes are needed to keep society in working order.

From The Daily Beast

The Manila-Dagúpan Railway was in working order, and bringing supplies into the city.

From Project Gutenberg

The electric wires got out of working order, and the city was lighted only by the glare of the flaming buildings.

From Project Gutenberg

The men therefore set vigorously to work to put in a spare pane, and get the light once more into working order.

From Project Gutenberg

There are now four cables in working order, and the cost of messages has been reduced twenty-five per cent.

From Project Gutenberg

(a) Was the apparatus for lowering the boats on the Titanic at the time of the casualty in good working order?

From Project Gutenberg