marching orders

plural noun

: authoritative orders or instructions especially to set out on or as if on a march

Examples of marching orders in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And whenever there is some upheaval in the world, or in our community, Leimert Park has always been this galvanizing place where everybody comes together to learn what’s going on, to find out what the solutions are and what the marching orders are. —Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026

That night, when Johnson broke into the meeting to deliver Shiffrin her marching orders, Shiffrin and her team had concluded what had happened that day. —Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026

Bondi took her marching orders and launched investigations of those the president named. —Austin Sarat, The Conversation, 3 Apr. 2026

Regardless, Sotos said, his firm took its marching orders from the law department, which continued to push the legal fight. —Joe Mahr, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1714, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for marching orders

• boarders
• borders
• warders
• camcorders
• disorders
• recorders
• suborders