execution

American  

[ek-si-kyoo-shuhn] / ˌɛk sɪˈkyu ʃən /

noun

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

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

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

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

The catalysts for a rebound would be more proof that OpenAI isn’t an existential threat, and continued execution each quarter.

From Barron's • May 13, 2026

The offer significantly undervalues the company and there is significant execution risk given its conditional nature, it said.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

With a new exhibition on view, photographer Ken Karagozian and author India Mandelkern discuss their book, “Wilshire Subway,” which documents the decades-long ideation and execution of L.A.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

She was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 2009 for fiction that chronicled the horrors of Ceaușescu’s totalitarianism, which lasted from 1965 to his overthrow and execution in 1989.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

The local press in Monroe County and Mobile had demonized Walter and had defiantly maintained that his conviction was reliable and his execution necessary.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson