A common tip for cutting wordiness is to delete in order in phrasings like in order to. I’ve given that advice myself, but it rarely comes with much of an explanation. Today, I expand on that recommendation, including when not to follow it.
What’s This Ordering Thing About?
In order to is used with an infinitive verb to express purpose, and it introduces a subordinate clause (Cambridge Dictionary n.d.). For clarity, “An infinitive is the tenseless form of a verb preceded by to” (Garner 2003, 743).
- He went to class in order to learn more about grammar.
“He went to class” is the main clause, and “in order to learn more about grammar” is the subordinate clause. The infinitive, to learn, is what carries the purpose; in order just adds emphasis.
Reducing in order to to to gives us the following.
- He went to class to learn more about grammar.
In this sentence, is there a change in meaning if in order is deleted? No. So, why add two unnecessary words? The Chicago Manual of Style (2017, 337) notes that in order to can often be reduced to to. Garner (2003, 455) agrees. The curious thing is that Chicago includes around fifteen instances of in order to throughout the manual, and Garner has just over twenty. That isn’t necessarily a case of not following their own advice, though. Chicago says the phrase can often be reduced, not always. Garner makes no stronger claim. As we’ll see below, there are times when in order to earns its place.
According to Maynard-Smith (2021, 84), “Stock phrases usually contain redundant words you can cut with no loss of meaning.” Included in his list of redundancies to cut is switching out in order to, which he switches out for to. And he follows his recommendation throughout his publication, using in order to only to show examples of when it would be best to delete it.
When “In Order To” Works
Sometimes, in order to is the better choice. The most common reason is clarity. Because to can attach to other words in a sentence, deleting in order can change the meaning.
- He told his coworker to leave early. (The coworker leaves.)
- He told his coworker in order to leave early. (He leaves.)
In order to also helps break up a string of to-infinitives, which can make a sentence harder to follow.
- The goal is to reduce costs to stay competitive.
- The goal is to reduce costs in order to stay competitive.
With a negative purpose, in order can’t be deleted at all. He tiptoed in order not to wake the children works; He tiptoed not to wake the children doesn’t. (So as not to is the other option.)
When the subject changes, to won’t work on its own, so use in order for, in order that, or so that, as in We moved the meeting so that everyone could attend.
Finally, watch out for sentences where in order happens to sit right before a to-infinitive, as in Put the items in order to ensure that the inventory can be tracked. That isn’t in order to at all, but readers will likely misread it that way at first. Recast it instead: Put the items in order so that the inventory can be tracked.
Conclusion
Honestly, in order to annoys me quite a bit for several petty reasons that I won’t get into today. When editing, I delete the phrase most of the time in order to shorten and clarify.
References
Cambridge Dictionary. n.d. “In Order To.” Accessed December 6, 2025. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/in-order-to.
The Chicago Manual of Style. 2017. 17th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Garner, Bryan A. 2003. Garner’s Modern American Usage. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press.
Maynard-Smith, Julian. 2021. Ultimate Guide to Business Writing: All the Secrets of Creating and Managing Business Documents. Abingdon: Routledge.