commandeer

[ kom-uhn-deer ]

/ ˌkɒm ənˈdɪər /

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See synonyms for: commandeer / commandeering on Thesaurus.com

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.

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Origin of commandeer

1880–85; <Afrikaans kommandeer<French commander to command

Words nearby commandeer

command, commandant, command car, command-driven, command economy, commandeer, commander, commander in chief, commandery, command guidance, commanding

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use commandeer in a sentence

Because there’s never been a messenger RNA drug on the market before, there was no factory to commandeer and no supply chain to call on.
The next act for messenger RNA could be bigger than covid vaccines|David Rotman|February 5, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Between shifts in a covid-19 unit at a nursing home, she commandeered the quietest room in the house, her little sister’s, and walked around holding up her laptop camera to prove the space was clean and cheating-free.
Cheating-detection companies made millions during the pandemic. Now students are fighting back.|Drew Harwell|November 12, 2020|Washington Post
They interviewed Magness multiple times in the proceeding months and commandeered his laptop and phone, which they scoured for evidence of further wrongdoing.
Inside a secret running program at Nike and a win-at-all-costs corporate culture|Rachel King|October 6, 2020|Fortune
The dog wants to be free of its leash and bound around in the grass with the other dogs just as the girls wanted to break free of my hand to commandeer the playground toys.
Investors look to buck a four-week losing streak, sending global stocks higher|Bernhard Warner|September 28, 2020|Fortune

State officials who prudently expanded stocks of personal protective equipment were unsure whether supplies would be commandeered by the federal government.
Times of strife can lead to medical innovation—when governments are willing|By Jeffrey Clemens/The Conversation|September 9, 2020|Popular-Science
He does have problems to work on, including a tendency to let giant personalities commandeer his show.
Can Jimmy Fallon Be Himself on ‘The Tonight Show’?|Tom Shales|February 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the mood to commandeer a Boeing 727 and demand half a million dollars in ransom?
When Hijackers Ruled the American Skies|Emma Garman|June 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Surely he never intended to commandeer the courthouses of Kabul where we would square off against the Taliban—lawyer to lawyer.
Our Right to Revenge After the Boston Attacks|Thane Rosenbaum|May 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
They now commandeer well-organized battalions of volunteers who could turn out voters for Obama.
Obama's Uphill Battle in Arizona|Terry Greene Sterling|October 11, 2011|DAILY BEAST
I only hope they wont want to commandeer it for carrying soldiers down to the Serbian border.
Motor Boat Boys Down the Danube|Louis Arundel
"I think I shall commandeer you and your dogcart," he said to Roger.
Notwithstanding|Mary Cholmondeley
I am most confident of that, since I am about to commandeer the Poet.
The Cassowary|Stanley Waterloo
Sherman tried to commandeer those flintlock muskets from the Mexican war--several thousand of them--but Coleman got them first.
Port O' Gold|Louis John Stellman
The king's messengers could commandeer any subject's property, giving a receipt.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 1|Various

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

commandeer

Origin of commandeer

Words nearby commandeer

Words related to commandeer

How to use commandeer in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for commandeer

Word Origin for commandeer