commissaire

British

/ ˌkɒmɪˈsɛə /

noun

(in professional cycle racing) a referee who travels in an open-topped car with the riders to witness any infringement of the rules

"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

Etymology

Origin of commissaire

from French: see _commissary

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:

commissaire

Her struggles with pregnancy provide a subplot, further softening up our gifted commissaire and making his domestic situation less than idyllic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2025

With Denis Ménochet, appealing as the local commissaire, and, eventually, Alfre Woodard.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 1, 2024

We sped through the race, past team cars laden with spare bikes as commissaire Jean-Michel ticked off riders for minor infringements and made copious, illegible notes.

From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2018

Pendleton still won an impossibly close finish – only for the commissaire to rule she had come out of her sprinter's lane.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 29, 2012

Ever since 1838, M. Buloz, under the title of "commissaire du roi," had been manager of the Théâtre Français, but after the revolution of 1848 he was abruptly dismissed.

From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 20, September, 1877. by Various

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023