commander in chief

American  

noun

commanders in chief plural

1. Also Commander in Chief the supreme commander of the armed forces of a nation or, sometimes, of several allied nations.

   The president is the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force.

2. an officer in command of a particular portion of an armed force who has been given this title by specific authorization.

---

commander in chief British  

noun

1. the officer holding supreme command of the forces in an area or operation

2. the officer holding command of a major subdivision of one military service

---

commander in chief Cultural  

1. The role of the United States president as highest ranking officer in the armed forces. The Constitution provides this power, but, through the system of checks and balances, gives Congress the authority to declare war. During periods of war, presidents such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, George H. W. Bush, William Jefferson Clinton, and George W. Bush have taken active roles as commander in chief.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• commanders in chief
  plural

Etymology

Origin of commander in chief

First recorded in 1635–45

Example Sentences

Mike Makowsky’s dramatic miniseries “Death by Lightning” faithfully preserves the stirring rhetoric of the man who would become America’s 20th commander in chief.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2026

“Let’s let the commander in chief lead,” Columbia Spectator, Jan. 28, 1987.

From Slate • May 13, 2026

"Ultimately, the timeline will be dictated by the commander in chief," she told journalists.

From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026

He is the commander in chief of the armed forces and oversees other key institutions, such as the judicial branch and state media.

From Salon • Mar. 6, 2026

I was going to be the best of the best someday, commander in chief, but today’s simulation showed just how far I still had to go to get there.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin