commander

[kuh-man-der, -mahn-]

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

/ 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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of commander¹

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

Example Sentences

The conflict in Sudan broke out in 2023 following a power struggle between the top commanders of the RSF and the Sudanese army.

From BBC

The commander said motivations included money, notoriety and "trying to feel like they belong to something slightly bigger", with some already on the fringes of criminality.

From BBC

Among the commanders expected to be at the gathering are those currently in active war zones and diplomatically sensitive areas, such as the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region.

From Salon

The commander of Nasa's next mission to the Moon said that he and his crew would "see things that no human has ever seen".

From BBC

He said that Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the group's military commander, has ordered all available fighters across the Strip to converge on the city, telling them to prepare for a "final, decisive battle".

From BBC

Related Words

• administrator 
• captain 
• chief 
• commandant 
• director 
• head 
• officer 
• ruler