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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.

Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, a former commander in the hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, told lawmakers Tuesday that “protests must be treated with generosity, responsibility and full accountability.”

From The Wall Street Journal

His path took shape after Chávez, a young tank commander bent on remaking Venezuela, launched a failed coup in 1992 and was jailed.

From The Wall Street Journal

Regional police commander Mohamud Abdihakim said the verdict marked an important moment in the pursuit of justice for the murdered teenager.

From BBC

In the early afternoon — around the time Garcia texted fire commanders — another pair of state park rangers visited the site.

From Los Angeles Times

We sat in a tea shop with the local police commander to negotiate our passage.

From BBC