execute
verb
Simple meaning
To carry out, to perform an act.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ehksuhkyootSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɛksəkjut
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitivelaw
To carry out, to perform an act; to put into effect or cause to become legally binding or valid (as a contract) by so doing.
“Execute a will or a deed.”
Carry out a process or program, as on a computer or a machine
Carry out or perform an action
transitive
To carry out; to put into effect.
transitivecomputing
To start, launch, or run.
Kill as a means of socially sanctioned punishment
“In some states, criminals are executed.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To carry out, to perform an act; to put into effect or cause to become legally binding or valid (as a contract) by so doing.
Used this way, execute is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a legal use: the wording is institutional and carries a defined meaning in law rather than a loose everyday one.
“Execute a will or a deed.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Law/legal
- Government/politics
- Academic writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Carryverb
“Execute a will or a deed.”
Killverb
“In some states, criminals are executed.”
More ways to use execute
- “In some states, criminals are executed.”verb
- “The Mafioso who collaborated with the police was executed.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
To act in a way set forth in a contract.
Put in effect.
To execute or perform.
To perform; to execute.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Putting a condemned person to death.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A person appointed by a testator to carry out the terms of the will.
A person responsible for the administration of a business.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
The speed with which a computational device can execute instructions.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.