veto

noun

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ve·to | \ ˈvē-(ˌ)tō

plural vetoes

Definition of veto

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : an authoritative prohibition : interdiction

2a : a power of one department or branch of a government to forbid or prohibit finally or provisionally the carrying out of projects attempted by another department especially : a power vested in a chief executive to prevent permanently or temporarily the enactment of measures passed by a legislature

b(1) : the exercise of such authority

(2) : a message communicating the reasons of an executive and especially the president of the U.S. for vetoing a proposed law

veto

verb

vetoed; vetoing

Definition of veto (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to refuse to admit or approve : prohibit also : to refuse assent to (a legislative bill) so as to prevent enactment or cause reconsideration

Other Words from veto Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about veto

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Examples of veto in a Sentence

Noun a veto of a bill Are there enough votes in Congress to override the President's veto? The President has the veto over new legislation. The President may choose to exercise his veto. Verb The President vetoed the bill. We wanted to do a cross-country trip, but our parents vetoed it. She vetoed several restaurants before we could agree on one.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The House veto override was supported by 212 Democrats, 109 Republicans and an independent. — Matthew Daly, ajc, "Trump lashes out at GOP after override vote on defense bill," 29 Dec. 2020 The veto override was supported by 212 Democrats, 109 Republicans and an independent. — Matthew Daly, Anchorage Daily News, "House votes to override Trump’s veto of defense bill," 29 Dec. 2020 The two senators must now decide whether to support a president who could help boost Republican turnout in the runoffs or back a veto override of the bill. — Aaron Zitner, WSJ, "Georgia Military Families Who Backed Biden Could Help Determine Senate Control," 29 Dec. 2020 Democratic senators might try to use procedural maneuvers to push through their own goals, as Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders did this week by threatening to filibuster a veto override of the defense budget until a vote on the $2,000 checks is held. — Matt Ford, The New Republic, "Mitch McConnell Is Giving Us a Sneak Preview of the Political Hell to Come," 29 Dec. 2020 Indeed, of the 22 Texas Republicans in the House, only Burgess voted both against the veto override and for the larger stimulus checks. — Tom Benning, Dallas News, "Which Texas Republicans voted against $2,000 pandemic stimulus checks requested by Trump?," 29 Dec. 2020 House Republican leaders did not urge members of their caucus to vote either way on the defense-bill veto override, in effect giving them a green light to snub a president whom the party almost never crossed in four years. — Chris Megerian, Los Angeles Times, "As Trump loses ground in Washington, House votes to override defense bill veto," 28 Dec. 2020 The effort has a good chance of succeeding and creating the first veto override of Trump’s presidency. — Jordan Fabian, Bloomberg.com, "Trump Yields on Virus Package, Signing After Damaging Delay," 28 Dec. 2020 The veto override now heads to the Senate, where Trump likely faces a similar defeat as early as Tuesday. — Susan Ferrechio, Washington Examiner, "House hands Trump first veto override on critical defense measure," 28 Dec. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Meller questioned Trump’s decision to veto the act just after U.S. officials announced a massive breach of government networks, allegedly by Russian hackers. — Grant Gross, Washington Examiner, "Defense authorization will pump up government cybersecurity," 31 Dec. 2020 Whitmer was expected to veto at least two of the measures; both were largely partisan efforts to restrict the powers of the governor and state health officials during a state of emergency. — Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press, "Whitmer vetoes 13 bills, says pandemic measure endangers 'lives of countless Michiganders'," 31 Dec. 2020 Consider what exactly led him to veto the NDAA, the annual budget-ish bill that funds the military. — Matt Ford, The New Republic, "Has an American President Ever Been Worse at Politics?," 28 Dec. 2020 There's no indication that a lack of wall funding this time is among the reasons Trump may veto the bill. — Matthew Brown, USA TODAY, "'Three-martini lunch' tax break, foreign aid: Why year-end bills are stirring controversy," 25 Dec. 2020 President Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed the annual defense policy bill, following through on threats to veto a measure that has broad bipartisan support in Congress and potentially setting up the first override vote of his presidency. — Kevin Freking, ajc, "Trump vetoes defense bill, setting up possible override vote," 23 Dec. 2020 Also on Wednesday, President Donald Trump is expected to veto a defense bill in part because lawmakers refused to include a repeal of the protections. — Todd Shields, Bloomberg.com, "Facebook Support for Liability Reform Has Little Guys Nervous," 23 Dec. 2020 The White House didn’t respond to inquiries about whether Mr. Trump would veto the coronavirus-relief legislation and when. — Andrew Restuccia, WSJ, "Trump Vetoes Defense Policy Bill; Covid-19 Aid in Limbo," 23 Dec. 2020 President Donald Trump has vetoed the annual defense policy bill, following through on threats to veto a measure that has broad bipartisan support in Congress and potentially setting up the first override vote of his presidency. — chicagotribune.com, "Trump vetoes annual defense policy bill, potentially setting up first override vote of his presidency," 23 Dec. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'veto.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

22 Jan 2021

Cite this Entry

“Veto.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/veto. Accessed 23 Jan. 2021.

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More Definitions for veto

veto

noun

English Language Learners Definition of veto

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a decision by a person in authority to not allow or approve something (such as a new law)

: the right or power of a person in authority to decide that something (such as a new law) will not be approved

veto

verb

English Language Learners Definition of veto (Entry 2 of 2)

: to reject (a proposed law) officially : to refuse to allow (a bill) to become a law

: to refuse to allow or accept (something, such as a plan or suggestion)

See the full definition for veto in the English Language Learners Dictionary

veto

noun

ve·to | \ ˈvē-tō

plural vetoes

Kids Definition of veto

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : the act of forbidding something by a person in authority

2 : the power of a president, governor, or mayor to prevent something from becoming law

veto

verb

vetoed; vetoing

Kids Definition of veto (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : forbid, prohibit We wanted to stay up, but Dad vetoed the idea.

2 : to prevent from becoming law by use of the power to do so

veto

noun

ve·to | \ ˈvē-tō

plural vetoes

Legal Definition of veto

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : an authoritative prohibition

2a : a power vested in a chief executive to prevent permanently or temporarily the enactment of measures passed by a legislature

b : the exercise of such authority — see also pocket veto — compare legislative veto

veto

transitive verb

vetoed; vetoing

Legal Definition of veto (Entry 2 of 2)

: to refuse to admit or approve specifically : to refuse assent to (a legislative bill) so as to prevent enactment or cause reconsideration — see also override

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