commander

American  

[kuh-man-der, -mahn-] / kəˈmæn dər, -ˈmɑn- /

noun

1. a person who commands.

2. a person who exercises authority; chief officer; leader.

3. the commissioned officer in command of a military unit.

4. U.S. Navy. an officer ranking below a captain and above a lieutenant commander.

5. a police officer in charge of a precinct or other unit.

6. the chief officer of a commandery in the medieval orders of Knights Hospitalers, Knights Templars, and others.

7. a member of one of the higher classes or ranks in certain modern fraternal orders, as in the Knights Templars.

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commander British  

/ kəˈmɑːndə /

noun

1. an officer in command of a military formation or operation

2. a naval commissioned rank junior to captain but senior to lieutenant commander

3. the second in command of larger British warships

4. someone who holds authority

5. a high-ranking member of some knightly or fraternal orders

6. an officer responsible for a district of the Metropolitan Police in London

7. history the administrator of a house, priory, or landed estate of a medieval religious order

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Other Word Forms

• commandership noun
• subcommander noun
• subcommandership noun
• undercommander noun

Etymology

Origin of commander

1250–1300; Middle English < Old French comandere, equivalent to comand ( er ) to command + -ere < Latin -ātōr- -ator

Explanation

A commander is the person in charge, particularly in the military. If you're in the Navy, your commander gives directions that you're expected to follow. A commander does exactly what it sounds like: she issues instructions or commands and assumes they'll be obeyed. Although there are other kinds of commanders, you're most likely to find the word describing a military official. The President of the United States is considered the "Commander-in-Chief" of the US Armed Forces. The word comes from the Old French comander, "to order."

Example Sentences

"Ultimately, the timeline will be dictated by the commander in chief," she told journalists.

From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026

Iranian Parliament Speaker Bagher Ghalibaf initially signaled a willingness to attend talks, but was overshadowed by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Maj.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026

Luis Molina, the watch commander at the sheriff’s Santa Clarita Substation.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026

Navy vice admiral and former commander of the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026

But I’d never, not even once, gone in the commander in chief’s office, and had Regan not decided to totally mess up my life, I probably never would have.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Related Words

• administrator
• captain
• chief
• commandant
• director
• head
• officer
• ruler