commandeer
Americanverb (used with object)
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to order or force into active military service.
-
to seize (private property) for military or other public use.
The police officer commandeered a taxi and took off after the getaway car.
-
to seize arbitrarily.
verb
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to seize for public or military use
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to seize arbitrarily
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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commandeersimple
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commandeerssimple
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have commandeeredperfect
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has commandeeredperfect
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am commandeeringprogressive
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are commandeeringprogressive
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is commandeeringprogressive
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have been commandeeringperfect progressive
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has been commandeeringperfect progressive
Past
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commandeeredsimple
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had commandeeredperfect
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was commandeeringprogressive
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were commandeeringprogressive
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had been commandeeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of commandeer
1880–85; < Afrikaans kommandeer < French commander to command
Explanation
What is that person doing, interrupting everyone and changing the subject every minute? He is trying to commandeer, or take control, of the conversation. You can probably tell from the look of the word that commandeer is somehow related to commander in meaning. A commander is someone who is officially in charge, giving orders and making decisions for a group such as a nation or a military. Many groups don't have a commander, but this doesn't stop some people from trying to take charge. If you commandeer something — whether it's a car or a conversation — you use force to try to take over.
Vocabulary lists containing commandeer
"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 19–24
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This Week in Words: December 2 - 8, 2017
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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.
See Examples For:
He regularly turned up at the U.K.’s New York consulate, would commandeer the consulate’s car and visit friends, including Epstein, the book says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 21, 2026
The students had gone to Iguala to commandeer buses to take them to an annual protest in Mexico City.
From BBC ● May 15, 2025
You took a computer at a place where you commandeer visually several screens at once, and you had also the ability to turn the TV you were watching pretty readily.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2024
“They can suspend laws, order evacuations, commandeer private property and impose curfews, among other powers.”
From New York Times ● Mar. 26, 2024
Here's the cool part: I will eventually go to Schiaparelli and commandeer the Ares 4 lander.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
When replicating, the virus essentially commandeers the molecular factory of the cell to make lots of copies of itself, then breaks out of the cell to set the new copies free.
From Salon ● Nov. 9, 2023
Guitarist Katie Henderson commandeers a laptop from their sound engineer, swipes through two dozen menus and recalibrates the backing track.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2023
Her teenage daughter, Roshni, commandeers it when she has homework to do.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 27, 2023
“Could it mean, should it mean, have we in other cases interpreted similar language to mean, you can’t use money in a way that commandeers a state or private entity?” he asked.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 6, 2022
Kruger, President S. J. P., ultimatum of, 1; commandeers his burghers, 34; designs of, 48; telegraphs to Botha to hold on to Hlangwhane, 343; to President Steyn to commandeer everyone in annexed districts, 382.
From History of the War in South Africa 1899-1902 v. 1 (of 4) Compiled by Direction of His Majesty's Government by Great Britain. War Office
Sure enough, the next day Colbert commandeered an episode of “Only in Monroe,” the same Michigan-based public access program he hosted in 2015 before his “Late Show” debut.
From Salon ● May 29, 2026
It climbs either side of a valley created by the River Esk, as it joins the port where whalers once launched and Captain Cook first commandeered the HMS Endeavour.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
Western experts say such workers endure miserable living and working conditions, have their movements restricted and see most of their wages commandeered by the North Korean state.
From Barron's ● Mar. 29, 2026
American forces are taking at least some of the commandeered tankers to Texas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 18, 2026
“We don’t know. The regiment arrived yesterday and commandeered every billet, every scrap of food, and every ship in the town. They’d have had this boat, too, if you hadn’t taken it.”
From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman
On Isabela Island, a local sea lion known as Panchito has become famous for commandeering the loungers at Cormorant Beach House.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
With captain Jamie George and up-and-comer Theo Dan commandeering the number two jersey of late, he faces a battle to force his way into the 23-man squad.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2024
Foster needs to sell season tickets, but campus needs to stop commandeering the concession revenue from basketball games in Pauley Pavilion.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 12, 2024
As generative AI grows, the shoggoth has to be fed on user data, which companies can squeeze more cheaply from you via commandeering your consent than they can by paying you for your data.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2023
Bo says nothing about me commandeering his radio.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
