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

Other Word Forms

• commandership noun
• subcommander noun
• subcommandership noun
• undercommander 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

For more than a decade as commander of Houthi forces, his playbook has been to keep challenging more formidable opponents with brazen missile attacks, gambling they have more to lose than he does.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Ukraine has deployed special forces to the eastern city of Pokrovsk, where it is under pressure from an intense Russian assault involving thousands of troops, Kyiv's top commander said Saturday.

Read more on Barron's

These give the commander in chief wide latitude over war powers, and both Democratic and Republican presidents have been happy to retain that power.

Read more on Salon

In the text messages, firefighters complained that commanders failed to make certain that the mop-up was finished.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The fire initially required 30 firefighters but once the incident commander saw the robot’s capabilities, he released more than half in response, freeing crews for other emergencies.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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