executor

American  

[ig-zek-yuh-ter, ek-si-kyoo-ter] / ɪgˈzɛk jə tər, ˈɛk sɪˌkju tər /

noun

• executors
  plural

1. a person who executes, carries out, or performs some duty, job, assignment, artistic work, etc.

2. Law. a person named in a decedent's will to carry out the provisions of that will.

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executor British  

/ ɪɡˈzɛkjʊtə /

noun

1. law a person appointed by a testator to carry out the wishes expressed in his will

2. a person who executes

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• executorship
  noun
• preexecutor
  noun
• subexecutor
  noun
• executorial
  adjective
• unexecutorial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• executors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of executor

1250–1300; Middle English executour < Latin execūtor, equivalent to execū ( tus ) ( see execute) + -tor, -tor; replacing Middle English esecutor < Anglo-French essecutour < Latin, as above

Compare meaning

How does executor compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• executor vs. executrix

Explanation

You're most likely to hear the word executor in an attorney's office, since it means a person who is legally responsible for ensuring that a will's directions are followed. The executor of a will is in charge of making sure that people listed as beneficiaries — in other words, the people who inherit money or property — receive what has been willed to them. When writing a will, most people will choose a responsible adult to be executor. The Latin root, executionem, means "an accomplishing" or "a carrying out."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

executor executors

Our dynamic is structured as I’m the visionary, he’s the executor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

The executor of the trust has argued Reiner is barred from accessing the funds by law.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

That, alone, could make challenging the executor not worth it.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

The battles fought between surviving friends—in this case Wilde’s literary executor, Robert Ross, and Wilde’s onetime boyfriend, Alfred “Bosie” Douglas—are more partisan, the enmities more acrimonious.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

The executor of the Westing estate said the deceased requested that, in place of flowers, donations be sent to Blind Bowlers of America.

From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin

Given the complexity and time involved, executors can bill the estate for their time and effort, as long as they follow the state laws, court rules and instructions in the will.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

Along with Al Fayed’s widow, Heini Wathén-Fayed, the executors are two of the couple’s children, Camilla Fayed and Jasmine Fayed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

“AI factories are relatively new and evolving and require significant learning along the way. The beneficiaries will be the top executors, from infrastructure players to bare metal powered shell and neo-cloud operators,” he writes.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

Affected families, beneficiaries, and executors do not need to do anything at this stage, the bank said.

From BBC ● May 19, 2026

Because relatives were sometimes impossible to locate, the committee began to administer the estates of the deceased who had no legal heirs or executors available.

From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy