executive order

noun

: regulation sense 2b

Examples of executive order in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The new Postal Service regulations stem from an executive order Trump issued earlier this year. — ABC News, 14 Sep. 2026

Pritzker also commented on the president's executive order seeking to limit mail-in voting during the 2026 midterm and future elections. — Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 10 Sep. 2026

Schwarzenegger’s executive order reducing the license fee to its former rate resulted in billions of dollars of losses to the state’s general fund. — Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026

In August, the president signed an executive order directing his administration to change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America after threatening the action for days amid a rapidly escalating trade war with Canada. — Joey Garrison, USA Today, 9 Sep. 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.