Phrase guide

tall order

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈtɔːl ˈɔːdə/
  • General-American: /ˈtɔl ˈɔɹdɚ/
  • General-American: [ˈtɔl ˈɔɹɾɚ]
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A big job; a difficult challenge.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: big ask

Antonyms: bagatelle, waltz, breeze, cake and gingerbread, cakewalk, child's play, cinch, doddle, doss, duck soup, easy pickings, gimme, layup, low-hanging fruit, no-brainer, open and shut case, picnic, piece of cake, piece of piss, plain sailing, plane sailing, slam dunk, snap, walk in the park, walkover

2

noun

Meaning 2

a formidable task or requirement

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • finishing in time was a tall order but we did it

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: large order

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: undertaking, project, task, labor

History

Etymology

From tall (“big, large”) + order (“request”)..

Across languages

Translations

10 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: iso urakka — big job, difficult challenge
  • Finnish: vaikea haaste — big job, difficult challenge
  • French: la croix et la bannière — big job, difficult challenge
  • Italian: compito arduo — big job, difficult challenge
  • Italian: osso duro — big job, difficult challenge
  • Polish: grubsza sprawa — big job, difficult challenge
  • Polish: grubszy interes — big job, difficult challenge
  • Polish: nie byle co — big job, difficult challenge
  • Polish: nie lada wyczyn — big job, difficult challenge
  • Thai: งานช้าง (ngaan-cháang) — big job, difficult challenge