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
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Tensions had flared this week on Capitol Hill as House Republicans faced tricky marching orders from their party leader, Trump, and Democrats cried foul after their colleagues discarded the original bipartisan agreement. Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 20 Dec. 2024 Ryan’s marching orders to us from the very beginning was that the tone is more important to him than anything that’s put on the page. Carita Rizzo, Deadline, 13 Dec. 2024 Next is October’s defeat away to Bournemouth, where Arsenal’s field tilt was at 66 per cent when William Saliba got his marching orders after half an hour, and 39 per cent for the remainder of the game. Art De Roché, The Athletic, 20 Nov. 2024 Internal emails sent to those who were given their marching orders suggest that staff will be paid until January 3, 2023, by the company—in part because of a requirement to adhere to California’s WARN Act, which prevents staff being fired without advance notice. Chris Stokel-Walker, WIRED, 8 Nov. 2022 See all Example Sentences for marching orders 

Word History

First Known Use

1714, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of marching orders was in 1714

Dictionary Entries Near marching orders

Cite this Entry

“Marching orders.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marching%20orders. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.

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