Synonyms

commander in chief

American

noun

Also Commander in Chief the supreme commander of the armed forces of a nation or, sometimes, of several allied nations.

The president is the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force.
an officer in command of a particular portion of an armed force who has been given this title by specific authorization.

commander in chief British

noun

the officer holding supreme command of the forces in an area or operation
the officer holding command of a major subdivision of one military service

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

commander in chief Cultural

The role of the United States president as highest ranking officer in the armed forces. The Constitution provides this power, but, through the system of checks and balances, gives Congress the authority to declare war. During periods of war, presidents such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, George H. W. Bush, William Jefferson Clinton, and George W. Bush have taken active roles as commander in chief.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

commanders in chief

plural

Etymology

Origin of commander in chief

First recorded in 1635–45

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.

See Examples For:

commander in chief

C: Maybe we should expect more from someone serving as president and commander in chief.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

The features are among those enabling the nation’s commander in chief to travel around the world securely and safely.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

Under the Constitution and the Presidential Succession Act, if a president dies in office, the vice president immediately becomes president and commander in chief.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

Mike Makowsky’s dramatic miniseries “Death by Lightning” faithfully preserves the stirring rhetoric of the man who would become America’s 20th commander in chief.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

“This particular Butterfly was modeled after a real one caught by our commander in chief about eighteen years ago. He was one of the first members of Mayhem we ever caught.”

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023