executive order

American

noun

(often initial capital letters)

an order having the force of law issued by the president of the U.S. to the army, navy, or other part of the executive branch of the government.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

executive orders

plural

Etymology

Origin of executive order

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

executive order

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Oct.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

He also issued an executive order to speed up the development of safeguards, including a “kill switch” in case humans lose control of AI.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

On the same day, the president also signed an executive order to rename AI as "super intelligence", after previously saying the word artificial made the technology sound "fake".

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

The president also signed an executive order directing all government agencies to integrate their websites with America.gov.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

By executive order President Truman desegregated the military in 1948, raising expectations among black Americans that conditions would improve even more.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023