commissary

American  

[kom-uh-ser-ee] / ˈkɒm əˌsɛr i /

noun

commissaries plural

1. a store that sells food and supplies to the personnel or workers in a military post, mining camp, lumber camp, or the like.

2. a dining room or cafeteria, especially one in a motion-picture studio.

3. a person to whom some responsibility or role is delegated by a superior power; a deputy.

4. (in France) a police official, usually just below the police chief in rank.

5. commissar.

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commissary British  

/ ˈkɒmɪsərɪ, ˌkɒmɪˈsɛərɪəl /

noun

1. a shop supplying food or equipment, as in a military camp

2. army an officer responsible for supplies and food

3. a snack bar or restaurant in a film studio

4. a representative or deputy, esp an official representative of a bishop

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• commissaryship
  noun
• subcommissary
  noun
• commissarial
  adjective
• subcommissarial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• commissaries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of commissary

1350–1400; Middle English commissarie (< Anglo-French ) < Medieval Latin commissārius, equivalent to Latin commiss ( us ) (past participle of committere to commit ) + -ārius -ary

Explanation

A commissary is a food and supply store for employees. On military bases, soldiers and their families shop in a commissary. The original commissaries were the military ones, from an earlier meaning of the word, "military official in charge of food supplies and transport." Today, many workplaces have commissaries where employees can buy prepared food, provisions, and sometimes equipment. Some factory laborers, miners, incarcerated people, and office workers shop at commissaries. And since Hollywood movie studios first opened in the early 20th century, they operated cafeterias on their lots, known as commissaries, for their employees.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

commissary commissaries

When a man from the commissary ran in with an order to evacuate the building, Blaschum went upstairs to find her flying partners.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

She said that during legal service consultations, commissary pricing frequently comes up.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

Detainees also say food rations were reduced, forcing them to buy costly items at the commissary.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

Marshals Service on Johnson’s behalf, scheduling a phone call with Johnson, as well as making sure there was money provided on his behalf in the prison commissary.

From Slate ● May 28, 2026

I sold sandwiches, coffee, candy, cake, and ice cream as fast as the railroad’s commissary department could supply them.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Immigrants detained at two federal facilities in California have launched a boycott in protest of increasing and, in their view, burdensome prices at the facilities’ commissaries for items including tampons, coffee and soup.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

Public grocery stores already exist in the form of commissaries on military bases.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 29, 2025

Pennsylvania’s contract for $50 million with GTL includes a 22.5 percent kickback from the sale of music, e-messaging, games, e-books, and deposits into people’s prison bank accounts—called commissaries.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2024

Prisons run by state and federal governments contract out many services to private firms — like health care, transport, meals, telecommunication, commissaries and uniforms.

From New York Times ● Mar. 25, 2023

They stated, furthermore, that they were not being paid in real money but in scrip, which was good only to buy Virginia ham in the company commissaries.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez