executive order

noun

: regulation sense 2b

Examples of executive order in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The bill would codify an executive order already in effect that prohibits physicians, clinics and hospitals from providing medications or surgeries for minors seeking gender transition. —Vivian Jones, Nashville Tennessean, 26 Sep. 2025

But the president signed an executive order on his first day in office to delay the ban. —Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2025

Thursday’s executive order states that the deal constitutes a qualified divestiture as required by the ban-or-sale law that passed with strong bipartisan consensus last year. —Samantha Waldenberg, CNN Money, 25 Sep. 2025

Trump has repeatedly accused Biden's administration of using an autopen to sign executive orders without the president's knowledge — which Biden has denied. —Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 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.