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Synonyms

commander

American  
[kuh-man-der, -mahn-] / kəˈmæn dər, -ˈmɑn- /

noun

  1. a person who commands.

  2. a person who exercises authority; chief officer; leader.

  3. the commissioned officer in command of a military unit.

  4. U.S. Navy. an officer ranking below a captain and above a lieutenant commander.

  5. a police officer in charge of a precinct or other unit.

  6. the chief officer of a commandery in the medieval orders of Knights Hospitalers, Knights Templars, and others.

  7. a member of one of the higher classes or ranks in certain modern fraternal orders, as in the Knights Templars.


commander British  
/ kəˈmɑːndə /

noun

  1. an officer in command of a military formation or operation

  2. a naval commissioned rank junior to captain but senior to lieutenant commander

  3. the second in command of larger British warships

  4. someone who holds authority

  5. a high-ranking member of some knightly or fraternal orders

  6. an officer responsible for a district of the Metropolitan Police in London

  7. history the administrator of a house, priory, or landed estate of a medieval religious order

"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

Other Word Forms

  • commandership noun
  • subcommander noun
  • subcommandership noun
  • undercommander noun

Etymology

Origin of commander

1250–1300; Middle English < Old French comandere, equivalent to comand ( er ) to command + -ere < Latin -ātōr- -ator

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.

He designed his own rehabilitation programme, which he shared with others on social media, before later going back to fight on the front, becoming a senior lieutenant and commander of a rifle platoon.

From BBC

Ahead of the conference, eight former US ambassadors to Nato and eight former American supreme commanders in Europe issued an open letter calling for Washington to maintain its support for the Western defensive alliance.

From BBC

The Ford will bring dozens more jet fighters and surveillance aircraft to the region and enable commanders to carry out airstrikes at a higher rate.

From The Wall Street Journal

Frustrated with the pace of change, last year, Breuer started to give money directly to battalion and brigade commanders so they can buy off-the-shelf commercial drones and other equipment so they can experiment.

From The Wall Street Journal

Many of these women are also mothers, Cornelius Smith noted, and their campaigns balance the identities commander and caregiver.

From Salon