order food

Meaning

To order food means to request specific dishes or drinks in a restaurant, cafe, or through a delivery app. It is the action of telling the server or business what you want to eat and pay for.

Examples

• Are you ready to order food, or do you need a few more minutes?

  Are you ready to order food, or do you need a few more minutes?

• We decided to order food from the local Italian restaurant tonight.

  We decided to order food from the local Italian restaurant tonight.

• I always order food using my phone when I arrive at the hotel late.

  I always order food using my phone when I arrive at the hotel late.

• It took us a long time to order food because the menu was so big.

  It took us a long time to order food because the menu was so big.

• You can order food directly at the counter and they will call your name.

  You can order food directly at the counter and they will call your name.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I want to ask food.

  ✓ I want to order food.

  'Ask' means to pose a question. To request food in exchange for payment, you must use the verb 'order'.

• ✗ We ordered a food from the hotel service.

  ✓ We ordered food from room service.

  'Food' is an uncountable noun in this context, so you should not use the indefinite article 'a' before it.

Related Expressions

Practice

• Let's ___ food from that new Mexican place down the street.

  💡 Request a meal to be made for you.

  Show answer

  order

• We need to ___ food before the kitchen closes at ten.

  💡 Ask the restaurant to prepare your meal.

  Show answer

  order