execution

American  

[ek-si-kyoo-shuhn] / ˌɛk sɪˈkju ʃən /

noun

• executions
  plural

1. the act or process of executing.

2. the state or fact of being executed.

3. the infliction of capital punishment or, formerly, of any legal punishment.

4. the process of performing a judgment or sentence of a court.

   The judge stayed execution of the sentence pending appeal.

5. a mode or style of performance; technical skill, as in music.

   The pianist's execution of the sonata was consummate.

6. effective, usually destructive action, or the result attained by it (usually preceded bydo ).

   The grenades did rapid execution.

7. Law. a judicial writ directing the enforcement of a judgment.

8. Computers. the act of running, or the results of having run, a program or routine, or the performance of an instruction.

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execution British  

/ ˌɛksɪˈkjuːʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of executing

2. the carrying out or undergoing of a sentence of death

3. the style or manner in which something is accomplished or performed; technique

   as a pianist his execution is poor

4. 1. the enforcement of the judgment of a court of law

   2. the writ ordering such enforcement

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonexecution
  noun
• preexecution
  noun
• reexecution
  noun
• executional
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• executions
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of execution

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English execucioun, from Latin ex(s)ecūtiōn-, stem of ex(s)ecūtiō “accomplishment, performance”; equivalent to execute + -ion

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Explanation

The planning stage of building a tree house is the fun part — the hard part is the execution of your plan. Execution is taking an idea and actually making it happen. The execution of a plan is when you put it into effect, like the execution on the field of a football team's game plan. It can also mean the style in which a project is carried out, like a ballet's creative execution. Execution can also refer to the death of a person, either a prisoner who's been sentenced to death by a court of law, or a deliberate, targeted murder, especially when it's done for political reasons.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

execution executions

House’s general counsel was to be notified ahead of the search warrant’s execution.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll released Thursday found that eight in 10 Americans opposed the livestreaming of the execution.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

He wrote “La Nieve” the night after filming an emotionally demanding execution and took inspiration from the verses in the last letter that Lorca wrote to Rodríguez Rapún.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

US President Donald Trump has called off plans to livestream the execution of former US army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan by firing squad.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

With less than a week before the execution, the next few days involved one frantic filing after the next.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

“Public executions are soul-twisting and we should not go down that road,” the conservative radio host Erick Erickson said on social media.

From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026

"We always have the possibility that there's going to be a mistake made when human beings are involved in executions," said Robin Maher, the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has since halted executions in the state.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

Lee has suspended executions in Tennessee pending an independent investigation.

From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026

The shame Shin feels about the executions has been compounded over the years by the lies he began telling in South Korea.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

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