executor
Americannoun
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a person who executes, carries out, or performs some duty, job, assignment, artistic work, etc.
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Law. a person named in a decedent's will to carry out the provisions of that will.
noun
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law a person appointed by a testator to carry out the wishes expressed in his will
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a person who executes
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of executor
1250–1300; Middle English executour < Latin execūtor, equivalent to execū ( tus ) ( see execute) + -tor, -tor; replacing Middle English esecutor < Anglo-French essecutour < Latin, as above
Compare meaning
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Explanation
You're most likely to hear the word executor in an attorney's office, since it means a person who is legally responsible for ensuring that a will's directions are followed. The executor of a will is in charge of making sure that people listed as beneficiaries — in other words, the people who inherit money or property — receive what has been willed to them. When writing a will, most people will choose a responsible adult to be executor. The Latin root, executionem, means "an accomplishing" or "a carrying out."
Vocabulary lists containing executor
The Westing Game
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Vocabulary from the Magna Carta on its 800th Anniversary
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Lifting as We Climb
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A last will and testament is a document that indicates who will receive assets after someone dies and names an executor, or personal representative, to administer the estate.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026
This pursuit of this truth makes him not only a liberating literary executor but also a worthy moral educator.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026
Allen also owned the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers. since his death, his sister Jody Allen has been executor of his estate, plus chair of the Seahawks and Trail Blazers.
From BBC • Feb. 18, 2026
Documents showed that Epstein had listed Ruemmler as a backup executor in a version of his will and called her the night he was arrested in 2019.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026
And then, to the surprise of a lot of people, he became Poe’s literary executor, which meant he had access to all of Poe’s papers.
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.