execute
Syllables: ex·e·cute/ˈɛksɪˌkjuːt/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
South Asia/eɡ.zɪ.kjuːʈ/
execute verb: to kill, especially as punishment for a capital crime.
Verb
execute (third-person singular simple present executes, present participle executing, simple past and past participle executed)
- To kill, especially as punishment for a capital crime.
- There are certain states where it is lawful to execute prisoners convicted of certain crimes.
- According to international treaties, it is illegal to execute prisoners of war.
- To carry out; to put into effect.
- Your orders have been executed, sir!
- I'll execute your orders as soon as this meeting is adjourned.
- To perform.
- to execute a difficult piece of music brilliantly
- to execute a turn in ballet
- 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.
- to execute a contract
- To start, launch, or run.
- to execute a program
- To run, usually successfully.
- The program executed, but data problems were discovered.
execute meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
execute in Tamil
- செயல்படுத்து, செயலாக்கு, இயக்கு, தூக்கிலிடு, திட்டமிட்டுச் செயல்படுத்து
execute in Urdu
- to execute
- دار پر کھینچنا dār par khaiṉcnā
execute in Bengali
- নির্বাহ করা, কার্যকর করা, উদ্যাপন করা, অনুষ্ঠান করা, নিষ্পত্তি করা, নিষ্পন্ন করা
execute in Malayalam
- to execute or implement
- നിർവഹിക്കുക niṟvahikkuka
More languagesFewer languages
- execute in Kannada
- ಎಸಗು, ಪೊದಳ್ಚು, ಎಸಗಿಸು, ಮಾಡಿಸು
- execute in Odia
- କାର୍ଯ୍ଯ଼କାରୀ କରନ୍ତୁ
- execute in Tagalog
- ipapatay
- execute in Arabic
- نَفَّذَ naffaḏa, أَعْدَمَ ʔaʕdama
- execute in Persian
- اعدام کردن e'dâm kardan, انجامیدن, اجرایدن
- execute in Thai
- ประหาร bprà-hǎan
Examples of execute in a sentence
- 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...
- 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...
- Then, on the basis of that permission, he executed a mutatio capparum⁷ and decked out his donkey, showing him off to great advantage.Part 1 published in 1605, Part 2 in 1615, translated in 2003, Miguel de Cervantes and translated by Edith Grossman, Don Quixote, page 157:
- 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...
Synonyms of execute
Forms of execute
| third-person singular present | executes |
|---|---|
| present participle | executing |
| past participle | executed |
| past | executed |
| alternative form (obsolete) | exequte |
| alternative form (obsolete) | exequute |
| alternative form (obsolete) | exsecute |
| alternative form (obsolete) | exsequute |
Origin of execute
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”).
Words formed from execute
Phrases with execute
Questions about execute
- What does execute mean?
- Execute means to kill, especially as punishment for a capital crime.
- What is execute in Tamil?
- Execute in Tamil is செயல்படுத்து, செயலாக்கு, இயக்கு. See Execute meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use execute in a sentence?
- Was not thy Father, Richard, Earle of Cambridge, / For Treaſon executed in our late Kings dayes?
- What part of speech is execute?
- Execute is a verb.
- How do you pronounce execute?
- Execute is pronounced /ˈɛksɪˌkjuːt/.
- What is the past tense of execute?
- The past tense of execute is executed.
Words near execute in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: execute (page history and authors); execute (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); دار پر کھینچنا (Urdu) (page history and authors); execute (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); നിർവഹിക്കുക (Malayalam) (page history and authors); execute (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); execute (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-execute.ogg.
Cite this entry: “execute.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/execute. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.