execution

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The act of executing something.
• noun The state of being executed.
• noun The manner, style, or result of performance.
• noun The act or an instance of putting to death or being put to death as a lawful penalty.
• noun The carrying into effect of a court judgment.
• noun A writ empowering an officer to enforce a judgment.
• noun Archaic Effective, punitive, or destructive action.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun 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.
• noun 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.
• noun 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.
• noun 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.
• noun Popularly, the levy itself.
• noun 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.
• noun 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.
• noun Effective work, or the result attained by it: generally after do: as, the speech did good execution for our side; every shot did execution.
• noun The pillaging or plundering of a country by the enemy's army.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

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

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun 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
• noun (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
• noun the act of performing; of doing something successfully; using knowledge as distinguished from merely possessing it
• noun (computer science) the process of carrying out an instruction by a computer
• noun the act of accomplishing some aim or executing some order
• noun unlawful premeditated killing of a human being by a human being
• noun putting a condemned person to death