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 fire initially required 30 firefighters but once the incident commander saw the robot’s capabilities, he released more than half in response, freeing crews for other emergencies.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The commander in chief of Ukraine's armed forces has warned Russian activity is increasing around the key frontline town of Pokrovsk, saying "the situation is difficult".

Read more on BBC

The Malian military, worried about the growing threat, overthrew the country’s civilian government in 2020, then ousted its own commander in 2021.

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The Lebanese President, Joseph Aoun, instructed the commander of the Lebanese army to confront any Israeli incursion into southern Lebanon.

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Israel’s military assesses that hundreds of Hamas fighters are still hiding out in tunnels inside the Israeli-controlled areas of Gaza and that they can communicate with their commanders.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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