tall order
noun
informal
: something that is very difficult to do
Getting the project done on schedule is going to be a tall order.
That's a tall order to fill.
Examples of tall order in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Bye week bounce-back The bye week allowed UCD players to rest and recover from the crushing 70-10 loss to the Washington Huskies in Seattle, a game the Aggies knew would be a considerably tall order.
—
Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 17 Sep. 2025
The 23-year-old did not buckle under the weight of this tall order.
—Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 10 Sep. 2025
That’s a tall order with abysmal civic education and sharp partisan divisions over thorny issues.
—Karlyn Bowman, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Coming up with a new, good idea that actually makes explicit predictions that can be tested, and then the results can be compared against the alternatives, including the previously prevailing theory, is a very tall order, but a necessary hurdle to clear in order for a novel idea to be accepted.
—Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tall order
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 17 Sep. 2025
The 23-year-old did not buckle under the weight of this tall order.
—Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 10 Sep. 2025
That’s a tall order with abysmal civic education and sharp partisan divisions over thorny issues.
—Karlyn Bowman, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Coming up with a new, good idea that actually makes explicit predictions that can be tested, and then the results can be compared against the alternatives, including the previously prevailing theory, is a very tall order, but a necessary hurdle to clear in order for a novel idea to be accepted.
—Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tall order
Cite this Entry
“Tall order.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tall%20order. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share