- present participle of command.
commanding
Americanadjective
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being in command.
a commanding officer.
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appreciably superior or imposing; winning; sizable.
a commanding position; a commanding lead in the final period.
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having the air, tone, etc., of command; imposing; authoritative.
a man of commanding appearance; a commanding voice.
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dominating by position, usually elevation; overlooking.
a commanding bluff at the mouth of the river.
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(of a view, or prospect) provided by a commanding location and so permitting dominance.
a commanding view of the mouth of the river.
adjective
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being in command
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having the air of authority
a commanding voice
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(of a position, situation, etc) exerting control
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(of a height, viewpoint, etc) overlooking; advantageous
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of commanding
Explanation
Something that's commanding is lofty, high, or impressive. Your thirtieth-floor apartment gives you a commanding view of the city. In the old days, noblemen built their castles up high on hills so they'd have commanding positions over the surrounding countryside: in other words, the height of the castle gave its inhabitants a certain sense of dominance, both symbolically and practically. In the 16th century, this adjective meant "nobly dignified," as a commander might be, and by about 1630, it came to mean "dominant by virtue of size or position."
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.
Lieutenant Samuel Frost, an Officer Commanding, said Freeman would be "sorely missed, rightfully commemorated, and never forgotten".
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026
Commanding men who have reached extreme levels of burnout, Fedorenko acknowledged the Russians were steadily advancing.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 21, 2024
Commanding from a bunker in Kyiv, General Zaluzhny pursued a strategy that drew the more powerful Russian Army deep into Ukrainian territory, attenuating its supply lines, which he then attacked with sabotage groups and artillery.
From New York Times • Jan. 31, 2024
Commanding the field while doing things that only the defending NFL most valuable player and Super Bowl champion Mahomes can do.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 30, 2023
“Do you know he is afraid of injections? A whole General Officer Commanding and if he sees a needle, he is afraid!”
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
