ˈmæɡnɪtjuːd ˈɔːdə ˈɔɹdɚ a degree in a continuum of size or quantity it was on the order of a mile an explosion of a low order of magnitude a number assigned to the ratio of two quantities; two quantities are of the same order of magnitude if one is less than 10 times as large as the other; the number of magnitudes that the quantities differ is specified to within a power of 10