commandeer
- 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.
Origin of commandeer
Related Words for commandeer
confiscate, hijack, activate, expropriate, annex, assume, arrogate, sequestrate, sequester, snatch, preempt, requisition, draft, take, usurp, appropriate, enslave, grab, liberate, conscriptExamples from the Web for commandeer
Contemporary Examples of commandeer
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 of commandeer
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
Word Origin for commandeer
Word Origin and History for commandeer
1881, from Dutch (especially Afrikaans) kommandeeren "to command" (for military service), from French commander (see command (v.)). Related: Commandeered; commandeering.