place an order

Meaning

'Place an order' is a natural way to say that you are officially requesting or buying food in a restaurant, room service in a hotel, or items online. It is more polite and common than saying 'make an order'.

Examples

• Can we place an order for room service, please?

  Can we place an order for room service, please?

• I'd like to place an order for a large pepperoni pizza.

  I'd like to place an order for a large pepperoni pizza.

• You can place your order at the counter whenever you're ready.

  You can place your order at the counter whenever you're ready.

• We placed our order over an hour ago, but the food hasn't arrived.

  We placed our order over an hour ago, but the food hasn't arrived.

• Is it possible to place an order for breakfast delivery tomorrow morning?

  Is it possible to place an order for breakfast delivery tomorrow morning?

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I want to make an order for a taxi.

  ✓ I want to place an order for a taxi.

  While 'make an order' is sometimes understood, 'place an order' is the correct and natural English collocation.

• ✗ We did our order ten minutes ago.

  ✓ We placed our order ten minutes ago.

  The verb 'do' does not collocate with 'order'. Always use the verb 'place'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• Excuse me, we are ready to ___________ now.

  💡 Tell the waiter what you want to eat.

  Show answer

  place an order

• You can ___________ for extra towels through the hotel app.

  💡 Request a service or item.

  Show answer

  place an order