executive order

American  

noun

(often initial capital letters)

executive orders plural

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• executive orders
  plural

Etymology

Origin of executive order

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

executive order

Against this backdrop, Trump signed an executive order in August 2025 aimed at boosting the US space industry.

From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026

Days later, two transgender girls who were the first to challenge Trump’s executive order dropped their lawsuit in New Hampshire.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

Three days after the executive order, the White House implemented the order through National Security Presidential Memorandum 7, which converts the fiction into machinery.

From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026

Those discussions led to an executive order in May directing financial regulators to use a range of existing rules to achieve the administration’s goals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

It cannot be accomplished through a landmark court decision, an executive order, or single stroke of the presidential pen.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander