command
verb (used with object)
to direct with specific authority or prerogative; order.
command
American
[kuh-mand, -mahnd]
/ kəˈmænd, -ˈmɑnd /
verb (used with object)
-
commands,
present (3rd person singular)
-
commanded,
past participle, past
-
commanding
present participle
-
to direct with specific authority or prerogative; order.
The captain commanded his men to attack.
- Antonyms:
- obey
-
to require authoritatively; demand.
She commanded silence.
-
to have or exercise authority or control over; be master of; have at one's bidding or disposal.
The Pharaoh commanded 10,000 slaves.
-
to deserve and receive (respect, sympathy, attention, etc.).
He commands much respect for his attitude.
-
to dominate by reason of location; overlook.
The hill commands the sea.
-
to have authority over and responsibility for (a military or naval unit or installation); be in charge of.
verb (used without object)
-
commands,
present (3rd person singular)
-
commanded,
past participle, past
-
commanding
present participle
-
to issue an order or orders.
-
to be in charge; have authority.
-
to occupy a dominating position; look down upon or over a body of water, region, etc.
noun
-
commands
plural
-
the act of commanding or ordering.
- Synonyms:
- injunction, bidding, direction, instruction, mandate, charge
-
an order given by one in authority.
The colonel gave the command to attack.
-
Military.
-
an order in prescribed words, usually given in a loud voice to troops at close-order drill.
The command was “Right shoulder arms!”
-
the order of execution or the second part of any two-part close-order drill command, as face in Right face!
-
Command, a principal component of the U.S. Air Force.
Strategic Air Command.
-
a body of troops or a station, ship, etc., under a commander.
-
-
the possession or exercise of controlling authority.
a lieutenant in command of a platoon.
- Synonyms:
- understanding, knowledge, grasp, comprehension, proficiency, domination, sway, ascendancy, control, charge, authority
-
He has a command of French, Russian, and German.
-
British. a royal order.
-
power of dominating a region by reason of location; extent of view or outlook.
the command of the valley from the hill.
-
Computers.
-
an electric impulse, signal, or set of signals for initiating an operation in a computer.
-
a character, symbol, or item of information for instructing a computer to perform a specific task.
-
a single instruction.
-
adjective
-
of, relating to, or for use in the exercise of command: command post.
a command car;
command post.
-
of or relating to a commander.
a command decision.
-
ordered by a sovereign, as if by a sovereign, or by the exigencies of a situation.
a command performance.
command
1
British
/ kəˈmɑːnd /
verb
-
(when tr, may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to order, require, or compel
-
to have or be in control or authority over (a person, situation, etc)
-
(tr) to have knowledge or use of
he commands the language
-
(tr) to receive as due or because of merit
his nature commands respect
-
to dominate (a view, etc) as from a height
noun
-
an order; mandate
-
the act of commanding
-
the power or right to command
-
the exercise of the power to command
-
ability or knowledge; control
a command of French
-
military the jurisdiction of a commander
-
a military unit or units commanding a specific area or function, as in the RAF
-
-
an invitation from the monarch
-
( as modifier )
a command performance
-
-
computing a word or phrase that can be selected from a menu or typed after a prompt in order to carry out an action
Command
2
British
/ kəˈmɑːnd /
noun
command
Idioms
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
commandsimple
-
commandssimple
-
have commandedperfect
-
has commandedperfect
-
am commandingprogressive
-
are commandingprogressive
-
is commandingprogressive
-
have been commandingperfect progressive
-
has been commandingperfect progressive
Past
-
commandedsimple
-
had commandedperfect
-
was commandingprogressive
-
were commandingprogressive
-
had been commandingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of command
First recorded in 1250–1300; (verb) Middle English coma(u)nden, from Anglo-French com(m)a(u)nder, Old French comander, from Medieval Latin commandāre, equivalent to Latin com- com- + mandāre “to entrust, order” ( cf. commend); (noun) late Middle English comma(u)nde, from Anglo-French, Old French; the noun is derivative of the verb
Explanation
A command is an order that you have to follow, as long as the person who gives it has authority over you. You don't have to comply with your friend's command that you give him all your money. Command, which can be a noun or a verb, combines the Latin prefix com-, meaning "with," and mandāre, "to charge, enjoin," so to give someone a command is to say something with the authority that charges him to follow it. Your mother might command you to clean your room. Command can also mean a position of power, like having command of a battleship, or possession of a skill, like having a great command of video games.
Vocabulary lists containing command
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 2
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 5
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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:
The US military set up a command post with foreign allies near the Gaza border to monitor the truce.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026
Early adopters of zero-emission technologies say they can’t command the rates they need to cover the higher costs of battery-electric or hydrogen fuel-cell trucks because they are competing with lower-cost diesel rivals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, who appeared alongside Patekar in the comedy film Welcome, remembered him as a rare performer whose voice, intensity and honesty could command an audience's attention.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
It is about making the audience see who is in command.
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2026
It could command a good price—a hundred dollars, maybe more—but it was hers.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
In March, small drones flew over Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, home to many B-52 bombers as well as the Global Strike Command, which oversees America’s bomber fleet and its intercontinental-ballistic missiles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
A US European Command spokesman said they were "aware of the reports", declining to "discuss specific force protection measures".
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Command enforces the armistice and helps provide security to the South.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
During our visit to Iron Command, another air raid siren sounded in Kyiv.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Almost everyone at Emerson is playing this game called Command.
From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée
"They sell these individuals to military units and regional commands facing manpower shortages, or traffic substitute recruits on behalf of wealthier individuals seeking to buy their way out of service."
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
“A pair generally commands a higher price,” Pagello says.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026
That’s why he currently commands the center ring of the circus.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
L.A.’s top litigator commands a budget of nearly $200 million, plays a role in shaping city ordinances, and wages court battles on behalf of the public.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
Each time she persisted, overriding my commands, I scolded her for fighting me, and each time I would find later that she was right.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
The Unmanned Systems Forces, which he has commanded since June 2025, amounts to 2.5% of Ukraine’s armed forces, but it’s responsible for approximately a third of all Russian casualties in the past year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Donald, who frequently commanded double-team blocking, made a memorable play near the end of the second quarter with the Giants — who had feasted on a Williams fumble — threatening to score.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Gen. Harold G. Moore, who commanded a cavalry unit at the late 1965 Ia Drang battle, fretted how the war was “devastating to the morale and effectiveness of every American unit in combat.”
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
But Ossoff’s remark also commanded attention, feeding a boomlet that helped bump up his standing in polls of the hypothetical 2028 presidential primary.
From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026
“Go change your dress, great-granddaughter. We’re going to visit your father,” he commanded her.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
Amazon said the Indiana facility would create 300 skilled manufacturing and engineering jobs, commanding average salaries of almost $100,000 a year, well above the state’s median household income.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
"Ultimately this was a tremendous debut performance from the new mistress of meringue, showing a side of Nigella we have not seen before: quirky, commanding, funny – but also humane," she concluded.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
A summit that shows the Chinese leader commanding respect abroad, Kritenbrink said, will play well at home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
I read such stories aloud and adhered to commanding officers’ warnings to keep “notes to the boat” free of any references to stress at home, lest we lower troop morale.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
None of them had Luxa’s arrogance or Vikus’s easy commanding presence.
From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins
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.
