executive order

noun

: regulation sense 2b

Examples of executive order in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That executive order faces multiple lawsuits. —NPR, 10 Oct. 2025

Newsom issued an executive order earlier this year requiring the Department of Public Health to provide recommendations by April on limiting harms from ultraprocessed foods. —Sophie Austin, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2025

Earlier this year, an LGBTQ+ film festival in Arizona was forced to shut down after the administration issued executive orders gutting diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. —David Hatkoff, IndieWire, 8 Oct. 2025

In January, Newsom issued an executive order calling on state agencies to crack down on ultraprocessed foods and artificial dyes. —Aria Bendix, NBC news, 8 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.