diff --git a/lib/cursor.js b/lib/cursor.js
index 69293213ec..4a0b815f67 100644
--- a/lib/cursor.js
+++ b/lib/cursor.js
@@ -557,7 +557,7 @@ Cursor.prototype.sort = function(keyOrList, direction) {
           value[1] = 1;
         } else if (x[1] === 'desc') {
           value[1] = -1;
-        } else if (x[1] === 1 || x[1] === -1) {
+        } else if (x[1] === 1 || x[1] === -1 || x[1].$meta) {
           value[1] = x[1];
         } else {
           throw new MongoError(