veto: Meaning and Definition of

ve•to

Pronunciation: (vē'tō), [key]
— n., pl. v., -toes, -toed, -to•ing.
—n.
  1. the power or right vested in one branch of a government to cancel or postpone the decisions, enactments, etc., of another branch, esp. the right of a president, governor, or other chief executive to reject bills passed by the legislature.
  2. the exercise of this right.
  3. Also calleda document exercising such right and setting forth the reasons for such action.
  4. a nonconcurring vote by which one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council can overrule the actions or decisions of the meeting on matters other than procedural.
  5. an emphatic prohibition of any sort.
  6. See
—v.t.
  1. to reject (a proposed bill or enactment) by exercising a veto.
  2. to prohibit emphatically. Also called
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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