Execute
/ˈɛksɪkjuːt/
Definitions
3 meaningsTo carry out a plan, command, or process.
/ˈɛksɪkjuːt/
To carry out a plan, order, or course of action.
The team executed the plan flawlessly.
💡 Simply: Imagine you have a really cool plan to build a Lego castle. When you follow your plan and put the Lego bricks together, you're executing your plan to build the castle!
👶 For kids: To do what you're told to do, like when a mommy tells her kid to execute chores.
More Examples
The project manager executed the budget revisions.
The soldiers were ordered to execute the plan.
How It's Used
"The company will execute its marketing strategy next quarter."
"The government executed the order to seize the assets."
To put a person to death, as a legal punishment.
/ˈɛksɪkjuːt/
To put someone to death as a legal punishment.
The prisoner was executed by firing squad.
💡 Simply: Imagine a really, really bad person broke the law and the judge says the person is going to be killed because it is a punishment for what they did.
👶 For kids: To kill someone as a punishment.
More Examples
The king ordered the execution of the traitor.
The condemned man's execution was scheduled for Friday.
How It's Used
"The convicted criminal was executed for murder."
"Many prisoners were executed during the French Revolution."
To produce or create something, especially a work of art, with skill and precision.
/ˈɛksɪkjuːt/
To produce a piece of art or work in a skillful way
The pianist executed the piece with remarkable grace.
💡 Simply: Think about a musician playing a song perfectly or a painter that's really good, like, really, really good.
👶 For kids: To do something really good, like when an artist draws a really great picture.
More Examples
The architect executed the design with incredible detail.
The chef executed the dish perfectly.
How It's Used
"The artist executed the painting with great precision."
"She executed the concerto flawlessly."
Idioms & expressions
Execute a double somersault
A maneuver in gymnastics
"The gymnast will execute a double somersault for her next routine."
From Latin *exsequī* meaning 'to follow out, carry out, fulfill'. Related to *prosecute* and *persecute*.
Used since the 14th century, initially to mean 'to carry out or fulfill'. The sense related to capital punishment emerged later.
Memory tip
Imagine you're following an instruction manual; you're executing the steps.
Word Origin
"to follow out, carry out, fulfill"