execution

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The act of executing something.
2. n. The state of being executed.
3. n. The manner, style, or result of performance: The plan was sound; its execution, faulty.
4. n. The act or an instance of putting to death or being put to death as a lawful penalty.
5. n. Law The carrying into effect of a court judgment.
6. n. Law A writ empowering an officer to enforce a judgment.
7. n. Law Validation of a legal document by the performance of all necessary formalities.
8. n. Archaic Effective, punitive, or destructive action.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The act or process of completing or accomplishing; the act or process of carrying out in accordance with a plan, a purpose, or an order.
2. n. The act of performing or doing, in general; performance; hence, mode, method, or style of performance; the way in which a desired effect is produced; especially, in art and music, the technical skill manifested; facility in the manipulation of a work or an instrument, in singing, or in performing a part.
3. n. In law: The act of affixing, as to an instrument, the tokens of assent, as by signing, sealing, delivering, etc., or by the performance of such acts and the observance of such forms as are required by law to make it the act of the party: as, the execution of a deed.
4. n. The instrument, warrant, or official order by which an officer is empowered to carry a judgment of a court into effect: properly called a writ of execution. An execution for debt is issued by a court or an officer of a court, and is levied by a sheriff, his deputy, or a marshal or a constable, on the property or person of the debtor.
5. n. Popularly, the levy itself.
6. n. The act of giving effect (to) or of carrying into effect; the act of enforcing; enforcement; especially, the carrying into effect of the sentence or judgment of a court.
7. n. Specifically The carrying out of a death sentence; capital punishment; the act of putting to death as directed by a judge of court: as, the execution of a murderer.
8. n. Effective work, or the result attained by it: generally after do: as, the speech did good execution for our side; every shot did execution.
9. n. The pillaging or plundering of a country by the enemy's army.

Wiktionary

1. n. The act, manner or style of executing (actions, maneuvers, performances).
2. n. The state of being executed (accomplished).
3. n. The act of putting to death or being put to death as a penalty, or actions so associated.
4. n. law The carrying into effect of a court judgment, or of a will.
5. n. law The formal process by which a contract is made valid and put into binding effect.
6. n. computing The carrying out of an instruction, program or program segment by a computer.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. The act of executing; a carrying into effect or to completion; performance; achievement; consummation.
2. n. A putting to death as a legal penalty; death lawfully inflicted.
3. n. The act of the mode of performing a work of art, of performing on an instrument, of engraving, etc..
4. n. The mode of performing any activity.
5. n. The carrying into effect the judgment given in a court of law.
6. n. A judicial writ by which an officer is empowered to carry a judgment into effect; final process.
7. n. The act of signing, and delivering a legal instrument, or giving it the forms required to render it valid.
8. n. That which is executed or accomplished; effect; effective work; -- usually with do.
9. n. obsolete The act of sacking a town.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a routine court order that attempts to enforce the judgment that has been granted to a plaintiff by authorizing a sheriff to carry it out
2. n. (law) the completion of a legal instrument (such as a contract or deed) by signing it (and perhaps sealing and delivering it) so that it becomes legally binding and enforceable
3. n. the act of performing; of doing something successfully; using knowledge as distinguished from merely possessing it
4. n. (computer science) the process of carrying out an instruction by a computer
5. n. the act of accomplishing some aim or executing some order
6. n. unlawful premeditated killing of a human being by a human being
7. n. putting a condemned person to death