commissioner

[kuh-mish-uh-ner]

noun

1. a person commissioned to act officially; member of a commission.

2. a government official or representative in charge of a department or district.

   the police commissioner; the commissioner of a colony.

3. an official chosen by an athletic association to exercise broad administrative or judicial authority.

   the baseball commissioner.

commissioner

/ kəˈmɪʃənə /

noun

1. a person authorized to perform certain tasks or endowed with certain powers

2. government

   1. any of several types of civil servant

   2. an ombudsman See also Health Service Commissioner Parliamentary Commissioner

3. a member of a commission

Other Word Forms

• commissionership noun
• subcommissioner noun
• subcommissionership noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of commissioner¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Anglo-French. See commission, -er ²

Example Sentences

In some cases, players altered their performance or took themselves out of games to ensure those bets were paid out, according to New York City police commissioner Jessica Tisch.

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On the first day of the trial, the Northern Ireland veterans' commissioner suggested that prosecutions of military personnel indicated an imbalanced approach to investigations into killings from the years known as the Troubles.

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Two commissioners said the fine was not quite large enough.

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The Welsh language commissioner said the research "causes concern" and suggests "the basic rights of Welsh speakers are not considered sufficiently".

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Southern Section commissioner Mike West said last month, “We’ve had a real influx of fraudulent paperwork. It’s been significant and very disheartening.”

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Related Words

• administrator