executive order

noun

: regulation sense 2b

Examples of executive order in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Justice Department told a federal appeals court that judges who blocked executive orders sanctioning several law firms had infringed on the president’s authority. —Mark Berman, Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2026

In an executive order issued Friday, Kemp named Chris Carr, Donnie Harrison and Jeremy Kelley to serve on a three-member investigative panel examining the conduct of Sheriff Gerald Couch. —Christopher Harris, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026

Trump’s executive order lays the blame for the stagnation of nuclear power at the NRC’s feet. —Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 6 Mar. 2026

The vote came a day after a federal judge blocked an executive order by DeSantis that labeled the Council on American Islamic Relations a terrorist organization. —Lawrence Mower, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2026

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.