ORDER BY

Lesson in the SQL Roadmap · Stage 5: Aggregate Queries

Last updated 14 September 2026

What is ORDER BY?

The ORDER BY clause in SQL is used to sort the result set of a query by one or more columns. By default, the sorting is in ascending order, but you can specify descending order using the DESC keyword. The clause can sort by numeric, date, or text values, and multiple columns can be sorted by listing them in the ORDER BY clause, each with its own sorting direction. This clause is crucial for organizing data in a meaningful sequence, such as ordering by a timestamp to show the most recent records first, or alphabetically by name.

Study this in the interactive course See the whole SQL roadmap

Free resources to learn ORDER BY

VideoSQL ORDER BY Sorting Clause

ORDER BY: common questions

Can I learn ORDER BY in Hindi?

This lesson is written in English. Once you sign in, open it in the interactive course and ask the AI tutor to explain ORDER BY in Hindi or Hinglish. The tutor answers from this lesson’s own text, so it stays on the syllabus, and it runs on your own Google, OpenAI or Anthropic key.

Is this ORDER BY tutorial for beginners?

It is lesson 28 of 112 in the free SQL roadmap, in stage 5, Aggregate Queries. If you are new to SQL, start from stage 1 and come back here in order; if you already know the earlier stages, this lesson stands on its own.