executive order

noun

: regulation sense 2b

Examples of executive order in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Average mortgage rates remain above 6%, and an executive order by Trump to increase construction of new homes would still take years to bend the curve on housing prices. —ABC News, 30 Apr. 2026

Widely known as a weedkiller, glyphosate is also a key ingredient in military munitions such as white phosphorus, raising questions about whether recent executive orders to increase domestic production of glyphosate are being driven more by defense needs than farming concerns. —Christiana Freitag, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026

The president initially signed an executive order suspending the de minimis exemption in 2025. —Heath Kalb, CBS News, 28 Apr. 2026

Instead, the president governs by executive orders, emergency decrees, and extortionate transactions, using his power to reward his friends and punish his enemies. —Gregg Nunziata, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1862, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for executive order

• boarder
• border
• corder
• warder
• camcorder
• disorder
• recorder
• reorder
• suborder
• transborder

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.