executive order

noun

: regulation sense 2b

Examples of executive order in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

It is expected that, upon taking office, President Trump’s flurry of first acts will include reinstituting his first-term executive order, later reversed by Biden, that would enable him to remove more easily executive branch employees who enjoy civil service protection, such as career prosecutors. —The Editors, National Review, 13 Dec. 2024

This type of battle would be analogous to what Biden did in issuing an executive order that lifted a portion of debt for student loan borrowers. —Louis Jacobson, Austin American-Statesman, 12 Dec. 2024

Federal officials began investigating the app in 2019, and then-President Trump sought to force a divestiture via executive order in 2020. —Julia Shapero, The Hill, 12 Dec. 2024

He is expected to issue a flurry of executive orders on immigration shortly after taking office, and has promised a huge mass deportation effort. —Sam Woodward, USA TODAY, 12 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1862, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

executive order

noun

: an order issued by a government's executive on the basis of authority specifically granted to the executive branch (as by the U.S. Constitution or a congressional act)

the National Security Agency was created by an executive order

compare proclamation, statute

Note: An executive order from the president does not have the force of law until it is printed in the Federal Register.