executive order

noun

: regulation sense 2b

Examples of executive order in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That deal would come in the form of an executive order rather than a treaty requiring congressional approval, mirroring the guarantee recently extended to Qatar following Israel’s strike on a Hamas compound in Doha in September. —Ben Smith, semafor.com, 24 Oct. 2025

Trump’s memorandum was consistent with one of his Inauguration Day executive orders, which prohibited DEI activities by all government agencies, grantees and contractors. —Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025

One of Braun's earliest executive orders was for the Family and Social Services Administration to order an independent audit of claims data from the state employee health plan and the Medicaid managed care entities the state contracts with to administer the Medicaid program. —Kayla Dwyer, IndyStar, 24 Oct. 2025

Trump signed an executive order to prohibit schools from allowing biological males to play in girls' sports in February, but the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) has persistently defied it. —Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1862, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for executive order

• boarder
• border
• corder
• warder
• camcorder
• disorder
• recorder
• reorder
• suborder
• transborder

Legal Definition

executive order

noun

: an order issued by a government's executive on the basis of authority specifically granted to the executive branch (as by the U.S. Constitution or a congressional act)

the National Security Agency was created by an executive order

compare proclamation, statute

Note: An executive order from the president does not have the force of law until it is printed in the Federal Register.