commandeer
[kom-uh n-deer]
- to order or force into active military service.
- to seize (private property) for military or other public use: The police officer commandeered a taxi and took off after the getaway car.
- to seize arbitrarily.
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Origin of commandeer
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for commandeer
Contemporary Examples
In the mood to commandeer a Boeing 727 and demand half a million dollars in ransom?
Surely he never intended to commandeer the courthouses of Kabul where we would square off against the Taliban—lawyer to lawyer.
They now commandeer well-organized battalions of volunteers who could turn out voters for Obama.
Historical Examples
Before she had finished she had had to commandeer the whole of the bed, and was weary and confused.
The Carroll GirlsMabel Quiller-Couch
Our present troop officer is great on the commandeer, and very popular.
A Yeoman's LettersP. T. Ross
Badly as boats were needed, Dave had to commandeer two of the smallest.
Dave Darrin After The Mine LayersH. Irving Hancock
He knew, too, that to commandeer a destroyer for a private errand was inadmissable.
The Secret of the Silver CarWyndham Martyn
Why shouldn't he commandeer the machine and make his escape that way?
Commander Lawless V.C.Rolf Bennett
commandeer
- to seize for public or military use
- to seize arbitrarily
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Word Origin
C19: from Afrikaans kommandeer, from French commander to command
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for commandeer
v.
1881, from Dutch (especially Afrikaans) kommandeeren "to command" (for military service), from French commander (see command (v.)). Related: Commandeered; commandeering.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper