Veto Meaning
/ˈviːtəʊ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA political right to disapprove of (and thereby stop) the process of a decision, a law etc.
nounAn invocation of that right.
Sentence Examples
The President vetoed the bill, but Congress overrode his veto.
On July tenth, the veto was announced.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The president will ____ the bill to stop it from becoming law.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The president has the power to ____ a new law if he believes that it is not in the best interest of the nation today.
Word Origin & History
From Latin vetō (“to forbid”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"I called Haig in and told him that I wanted to veto the agricultural appropriations bill we had discussed in the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, because I did not want Ford to have to do it on his first day as President. Haig brought the veto statement in, and I signed it. It was the last piece of legislation I acted on as President."
— 1978, Richard Nixon, “The Presidency 1973–1974”, in RN: the Memoirs of Richard Nixon, Grosset & Dunlap, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 1078:
"The failure on Wednesday to overturn Mr. Cooper’s veto was among the most dramatic consequences of Democratic legislative victories in North Carolina last November, which broke Republican supermajorities in both chambers and made it easier for Mr. Cooper’s vetos to survive."
— 2019 May 6, Richard Fausset, “North Carolina Legislature Fails to Overturn Governor’s Veto of Anti-Abortion Bill”, in The New York Times:
"Now, Republican legislators cannot afford to lose a single seat, in either chamber, if they want to continue to override his vetoes."
— 2024 August 31, David W. Chen, “In North Carolina, the Math for a Supermajority May Come Down to One”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 05 Sep 2024:
"This contemptuous veto of her husband's on any intimacy with her family."
— 1876, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter 44, in Daniel Deronda, volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC:
"The railway was in fact shifted in 1937 a little to the west, over a distance of a quarter-mile, to make room for the by-pass at this point, but complete abandonment was firmly vetoed because of the proved strategic value of the line."
— 1955 March, T. B. Sands, “The Didcot, Newbury & Southampton Railway—2”, in Railway Magazine, page 191:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The president will ____ the bill to stop it from becoming law.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The president has the power to ____ a new law if he believes that it is not in the best interest of the nation today.