Meaning & use
veto
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Meanings
nouncountable
The official power to reject or block a proposed law, decision, or action.
Grammar: Countable: a veto, the veto, vetoes.
Patterns
- have the power of veto
- exercise a veto
- use a veto
- a veto over something
The president has the power of veto over legislation.
The governor used her veto to block the bill.
The committee's veto stopped the plan from going forward.
verbtransitive
To use official power to reject or refuse to approve a proposal.
Grammar: Takes an object: veto a bill.
Patterns
- veto a bill
- veto a decision
- veto a plan
The mayor vetoed the city council's budget proposal.
The president can veto any law passed by Congress.
The board vetoed the merger at the last minute.
Word forms
| plural | vetoes |
|---|---|
| third person singular | vetoes |
| past tense | vetoed |
| past participle | vetoed |
| -ing form | vetoing |
Common combinations
- veto power
- The security council members have veto power over resolutions.
- exercise a veto
- The governor exercised a veto on the spending bill.
- veto a bill
- The president threatened to veto the bill if it reached his desk.
- override a veto
- Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds majority.
Synonyms and how they differ
- reject
- More general; can mean refuse to accept anything, not just official proposals.
- block
- Similar but less formal; often used for stopping progress.
Opposites
Word family
- vetoing noun
- The act of rejecting a proposal.
Commonly confused: veto or vote?
veto vs vote
Vote means to make a choice in an election; veto means to reject a proposal.
Practice
The president decided to ______ the bill because it did not meet his requirements.
Choose one answer.
After 'to', the base form 'veto' is correct. 'Vote' is a different action; 'vetoes' is third-person singular; 'vetoing' is the -ing form, which does not fit after 'to'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “veto”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.