| standing order | |
| —n | |
| 1. | Compare direct debit Also called: banker's order an instruction to a bank by a depositor to pay a stated sum at regular intervals |
| 2. | a rule or order governing the procedure, conduct, etc, of a legislative body |
| 3. | military one of a number of orders which have or are likely to have long-term validity |
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
standing order
A regulation that is in force until it is specifically changed or withdrawn, as in The waiters have standing orders to fill all glasses as they are emptied. This idiom began life in the mid-1600s as standing rule; the word order began to be used about 1800 for such military orders and gradually was extended to other areas.