orderly

Everyday

1. Orderly means tidy and well arranged: an orderly desk. tree →
2. Orderly means calm and well behaved, without pushing: an orderly queue. tree →
3. (noun) An orderly is a person who helps in a hospital, carrying things and moving patients, or a soldier who helps an officer. tree →

In the lessons

In school and safety: leave the building in an orderly way during a fire drill; make an orderly line. In hospitals: orderlies help nurses. It tells the reader things are calm and organised.

Examples

• Please walk out in an orderly line. tree →
• The fire drill was quick and orderly. tree →
• Her pencils were in an orderly row. tree →
• The crowd waited in an orderly queue. tree →
• A hospital orderly pushed the wheelchair. tree →
• Keep your notes neat and orderly. tree →

Note

Though it ends in -ly, «orderly» is an adjective, not an adverb: say «in an orderly way», not «they left orderly». Opposite: disorderly. From «order».