executive branch

American  

[ig-zek-yuh-tiv branch] / ɪgˈzɛk jə tɪv ˌbræntʃ /

noun

• executive branches
  plural

1. the branch of government charged with the execution and enforcement of laws and policies and the administration of public affairs; the executive.

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executive branch Cultural  

1. The branch of federal and state government that is broadly responsible for implementing, supporting, and enforcing the laws made by the legislative branch and interpreted by the judicial branch. At the state level, the executive includes governors and their staffs. At the federal level, the executive includes the president, the vice president, staffs of appointed advisers (including the cabinet), and a variety of departments and agencies, such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Postal Service (see postmaster general). The executive branch also proposes a great deal of legislation to Congress and appoints federal judges, including justices of the Supreme Court. Although the executive branch guides the nation's domestic and foreign policies, the system of checks and balances works to limit its power.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• executive branches
  plural

Etymology

Origin of executive branch

First recorded in 1710–20

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

executive branch

Trump admitted it was rare for the US president, who heads the executive branch of the US government, to criticize the Supreme Court, which heads the judicial branch.

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

The Smithsonian operates independently of the executive branch and is overseen by a Board of Regents.

From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026

Their relationship will be closely monitored, along with further interactions between the central bank and executive branch, which has already faced much scrutiny.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

It’s all kind of dreamed up by executive branch lawyers, and they have tried to look for places where they can say that this is the case.

From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026

And his conduct in providing clandestine instructions to Adams’s cabinet undermined the constitutional authority of the executive branch in ways that would have landed him in jail in modern times.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Related Words

• bureau
• department