Execute Meaning
/ˈɛksɪˌkjuːt/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo kill, especially as punishment for a capital crime.
verbTo carry out; to put into effect.
Sentence Examples
It is difficult to execute the task.
To execute a plan was simple.
I want to execute the plan by all means.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The chef will ____ the recipe exactly as written for the competition.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The computer had to ____ a series of complex commands to process the large data set.
Word Origin & History
From Old French executer (French exécuter), from Latin exsecutus, past participle of exsequor (“to follow (up/through)”, particularly in the sense “to go through with a deed or punishment”), from ex- (“out”) + sequor (“to follow”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Was not thy Father, Richard, Earle of Cambridge, / For Treaſon executed in our late Kings dayes?"
— 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv], page 104, column 1:
"Why delays / His hand to execute what his decree / Fixed on this day?"
— 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
"Affinity groups will plan and execute nonviolent actions to both symbolically and directly challenge weapons development."
— 1989 February 12, Escalating Peace: A Next Step To Resist Global Violence, “George Jarret”, in Gay Community News, volume 16, number 30, page 5:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The chef will ____ the recipe exactly as written for the competition.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The computer had to ____ a series of complex commands to process the large data set.