commander
Americannoun
-
a person who commands.
-
a person who exercises authority; chief officer; leader.
-
the commissioned officer in command of a military unit.
-
U.S. Navy. an officer ranking below a captain and above a lieutenant commander.
-
a police officer in charge of a precinct or other unit.
-
the chief officer of a commandery in the medieval orders of Knights Hospitalers, Knights Templars, and others.
-
a member of one of the higher classes or ranks in certain modern fraternal orders, as in the Knights Templars.
noun
-
an officer in command of a military formation or operation
-
a naval commissioned rank junior to captain but senior to lieutenant commander
-
the second in command of larger British warships
-
someone who holds authority
-
a high-ranking member of some knightly or fraternal orders
-
an officer responsible for a district of the Metropolitan Police in London
-
history the administrator of a house, priory, or landed estate of a medieval religious order
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When Mr. Hart discusses commanders and strategy his views are typically trenchant and insightful.
The police evaluation was based primarily on information given to the force by Dutch police commanders ahead of the game, the MPs heard.
From BBC
Mexico’s first female president also serves as military commander in chief.
From Los Angeles Times
When they have just suffered a defeat, the army commanders consistently vow to avenge their losses and regain their pride.
From BBC
He helped guard US forces at Kabul airport at the time of the withdrawal, a former military commander who served alongside him told the BBC.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.