Meaning of veto in English

veto

noun [ C or U ]

/ˈviː.təʊ/ us

/ˈviː.t̬oʊ/

plural vetoes

Add to word list Add to word list

an official power or right to refuse to accept or allow something:

power of veto The president has the power of veto over any bill that comes across his desk.

In theory the British government could use its veto to block this proposal.

veto of The Senate voted to override the president's veto of the proposed measures.

put a veto on mainly UK My parents put a veto on our watching television for more than two hours each evening.

More examplesFewer examples

Opponents are unlikely to be able to muster enough votes to override the veto.
The president used his veto to override the committee's decision.
The chairwoman used her veto to block the appointment.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Forbidding and banning things

See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Refusing & rejecting

veto

verb [ T ]

/ˈviː.təʊ/ us

/ˈviː.t̬oʊ/

to refuse to allow something:

In 1961, President De Gaulle vetoed the UK's entry into the Common Market.

[ + -ing verb ] My boss vetoed my taking any more time off this year.

Synonyms

disallow

nix US informal

Compare

proscribe formal

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

to forbid someone or something

forbidHe grew up in a strict household where dating was forbidden.
disallowUpon review, the goal was disallowed.
banThe government has banned the sale of lead-based paint.
prohibitVehicles are prohibited from parking on the grass.

See more results »

More examplesFewer examples

The president has the power to veto the imposition of sanctions.
Managers vetoed proposals for a shorter working week.
My father vetoed our plans for a trip to Ibiza.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Forbidding and banning things

See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Refusing & rejecting

(Definition of veto from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

veto | American Dictionary

veto

noun [ C/U ]

/ˈvi·t̬oʊ/

plural vetoes

Add to word list Add to word list

politics & government

the power to refuse to allow something to be done, or such a refusal:

[ C ] The president has promised a veto if Congress passes that bill.

[ U ] The mayor will have no veto over zoning.

veto

verb [ T ]

/ˈvi·t̬oʊ/

present tense vetoes | present participle vetoing | past tense and past participle vetoed

politics & government

to refuse to allow something to be done:

The governor said she would veto the bill unless certain parts were changed.

Cory wanted to drive the car, but her mom vetoed it.

(Definition of veto from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

veto | Business English

veto

noun [ C ]

GOVERNMENT, POLITICS

/ˈviːtəʊ/ us

plural vetoes

Add to word list Add to word list

an official power or right to refuse to accept or allow something even if most of the other people or organizations involved approve of it:

have/use/threaten a veto The British government could use its veto to block the proposal.

A two-thirds majority of the Senate would be needed to override the governor's veto of the bill.

The permanent members of the Security Council all have veto powers.

presidential veto

the power/right of veto

veto

verb [ T ]

GOVERNMENT, POLITICS

/ˈviːtəʊ/ us

vetoed | vetoed | vetoing

to refuse to allow or accept something such as a vote even if most of the other people or organizations involved approve of it:

veto a bill/deal/plan The President vetoed a bill that would have provided the program with an additional $35 billion over five years.

The bid was vetoed by European competition authorities.

(Definition of veto from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of veto

veto

However, if the feasible set is empty, legislative action is not politically feasible since any proposal will be vetoed.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Note that, for the president, vetoing the prime minister's proposed cabinet is not a costless or inconsequential course of action.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Legislation and regulation may be subject to higher-order rules (for example, constitutional rules, presidential vetoes, and international law).

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Any of these vetoes would have raised the constitutional crisis to a higher level.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

If the sceptic acts irrationally when vetoing the religious affirmation of others, he is for the same reasons acting irrationally when vetoing his own belief.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Three items - welfare reform, middle-class tax cuts and tort reform - passed both chambers only to be vetoed.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The president incurs this cost whenever he vetoes a prime ministerial cabinet proposal.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The first respect in which the agreement departs from consociational theory relates to group vetoes.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

There should be no question of vetoing these arrangements.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

A president may be given authority in the constitution to react to legislative attempts to change prevailing policy, for instance, by vetoing the bill.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

At that point, however, the executive vetoed the measure, arguing that it might be perceived as anti-immigrant.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

A dam may be approved by the water agency, only to be vetoed by the environmental agency that finds it in violation of environmental law.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The reforms might have been vetoed by interests that feared that they would lose out from the changes, but were not.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Since the federation's policies were vetoed, the central government, as well as the cantons, began to subsidise the social security programmes of these private carriers.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Only one out of seven such doubleedged proposals was vetoed by the people (table 3).

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all examples of veto

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of veto?

Translations of veto

in Chinese (Traditional)

否決, 禁止…

Meaning of veto in English

veto | American Dictionary

veto | Business English

Examples of veto

Translations of veto

Browse

Learn more with +Plus

Learn more with +Plus