Words / C1

EKS-ik-yoot/ˈeksɪkjuːt/

To execute is to carry out a plan or order: execute a plan, execute a command. Carry out is everyday; implement is a close formal cousin. In law, execute also means to kill someone as a punishment — a different, grave sense. Execution is the noun for both (the execution of a strategy; an execution). In speech, carry out is enough for the first sense. Keep the two meanings apart: in a classroom, execute the plan should never be heard as the legal sense. Context and tone do the work; do not be casual with the death-penalty meaning.

Meaning

To carry out a plan or order; also, in law, to kill as a punishment.

Examples

• “The team executed the plan well.”
• “The team executed the plan well: roles, times, and a fallback if the bus failed.”
• “In legal history, execute can mean put to death; that is not how you “execute” a lesson plan.”

Good to know

Carry out a plan/order. Everyday: carry out. Close: implement. Noun: execution. Legal: put to death (keep this sense clearly separate).

Near in meaning

implement

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