Definition of "mandate" []

• An authoritative command or instruction. (noun)
• A command or an authorization given by a political electorate to its representative. (noun)
• A commission from the League of Nations authorizing a member nation to administer a territory. (noun)
• A region under such administration. (noun)
• Law An order issued by a superior court or an official to a lower court. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "If you don't have the product then don't bother me with all the LOI, and I hate to hear the term mandate, and all the BS that go with it."
• "There seems to be a lot of spin on this issue, as to whether the mandate is a “tax” or not, but word games aside, clearly the individual mandate is a major cost of the program to Americans."
• "That Wal Mart has endorsed the employer mandate is a bit surprising but not shocking."