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commandeer

[ kom-uh n-deer ]
/ ˌkɒm ənˈdɪər /
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verb (used with object)

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.

RELATED WORDS

confiscate, hijack, activate, expropriate, annex, assume, arrogate, sequestrate, sequester, snatch, preempt, requisition, draft, take, usurp, appropriate, enslave, grab, liberate, conscript

Nearby words

  1. command paper,
  2. command performance,
  3. command post,
  4. command-driven,
  5. commandant,
  6. commander,
  7. commander in chief,
  8. commander islands,
  9. commander-in-chief,
  10. commandery

Origin of commandeer

1880–85; < Afrikaans kommandeer < French commander to command
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for commandeer

British Dictionary definitions for commandeer

commandeer

/ (ˌkɒmənˈdɪə) /

verb (tr)

to seize for public or military use
to seize arbitrarily

Word Origin for commandeer

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for commandeer

commandeer

v.

1881, from Dutch (especially Afrikaans) kommandeeren "to command" (for military service), from French commander (see command (v.)). Related: Commandeered; commandeering.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper