execution: Meaning and Definition of

ex•e•cu•tion

Pronunciation: (ek"si-ky'shun), [key]
— n.
  1. the act or process of executing.
  2. the state or fact of being executed.
  3. the infliction of capital punishment or, formerly, of any legal punishment.
  4. the process of performing a judgment or sentence of a court: The judge stayed execution of the sentence pending appeal.
  5. a mode or style of performance; technical skill, as in music: The pianist's execution of the sonata was consummate.
  6. effective, usually destructive action, or the result attained by it (usually prec. by do): The grenades did rapid execution.
  7. a judicial writ directing the enforcement of a judgment.
  8. the act of running, or the results of having run, a program or routine, or the performance of an instruction.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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