commander

[ kuh-man-der, -mahn- ]

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.

commander

/ 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

Derived Forms

• comˈmanderˌship, noun

Other Words From

• com·mander·ship noun
• subcom·mander noun
• subcom·mander·ship noun
• under·com·mander noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of commander¹

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

Example Sentences

When the Russians used mainly missiles to bomb Ukraine, the unit commander said, the air alerts would last about six hours.

From BBC

They deserve to be led by commanders who are not bigots and misogynists.

From Salon

“Many of the humans left when the jobs did. Those that remained, they needed – they craved – a leader. A warrior. A commander. And they became my army,” he tells his roommates.

From Salon

Individual military commanders are granted discretion on these distinctions, placing the determination of honor or shame in their hands.

From Los Angeles Times

Assistant Chief Constable Tim Mairs, gold commander for Operation Moonbeam said challenging scenes had not escalated to mass disorder as it had last year.

From BBC

Related Words

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