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commission

[ kuh-mish-uhn ]

/ kəˈmɪʃ ən /

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See synonyms for: commission / commissioned / commissioning / commissions on Thesaurus.com

noun

the act of committing or entrusting a person, group, etc., with supervisory power or authority.

an authoritative order, charge, or direction.

authority granted for a particular action or function.

a document granting such authority.

a document conferring authority issued by the president of the U.S. to officers in the Army, Navy, and other military services, and by state governments to justices of the peace and others.

the power thus granted.

the position or rank of an officer in any of the armed forces.

a group of persons authoritatively charged with particular functions: a parks commission.

the condition of being placed under special authoritative responsibility or charge.

a task or matter committed to one's charge; official assignment: The architect received a commission to design an office building.

the act of committing or perpetrating a crime, error, etc.: The commission of a misdemeanor is punishable by law.

something that is committed: He was held accountable for his evil commissions.

authority to act as agent for another or others in commercial transactions.

a sum or percentage of what has been paid that is allowed to agents, sales representatives, etc., for their services: In addition to her salary, she will get a 20 percent commission for each sale she makes.

verb (used with object)

to give a commission to: to commission a new graduate of a military academy with the rank of lieutenant.

to authorize; send on a mission: I've been commissioned by my friend overseas to find him a cheap apartment in New York.

to give the order that places a warship, military command, etc., in a state of complete readiness for active duty.

to give a commission or order for: The owners commissioned a painting for the building's lobby.

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What Does Working On Commission Mean?

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Idioms about commission

in commission,

in service.
in operating order: A great deal of work will be necessary to put this car in commission again.
Also into commission. Navy. (of a ship) manned and in condition for or ordered to active service.

on commission, paid entirely or partially with commissions from sales one has made or for work one has done: The salespeople who are on commission earn 6 percent of the total amount they sell.

out of commission,

not in service: Telephone lines were out of commission for several days after the storm.
not in operating order: Sorry, but I can't bake cupcakes for you while the stove is out of commission.

Origin of commission

1300–50; Middle English (<Anglo-French ) <Latin commissiōn- (stem of commissiō) a committing. See com-, mission, commit

OTHER WORDS FROM commission

com·mis·sion·a·ble, adjectivecom·mis·sion·al, adjectivecom·mis·sive, adjectivecom·mis·sive·ly, adverb

in·ter·com·mis·sion, nounre·com·mis·sion, noun, verb (used with object)sub·com·mis·sion, nounun·com·mis·sioned, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH commission

commission , omission

Words nearby commission

commish, commissaire, commissar, commissariat, commissary, commission, commissionaire, commissioned officer, commissioner, Commissioner for Local Administration, commissioner for oaths

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use commission in a sentence

The commission issued a request for proposals but never awarded a contract.
Morning Report: Vacancy Tax Déjà Vu|Voice of San Diego|February 11, 2021|Voice of San Diego
Digital teams are paid on commissions, not a full-time equivalent model so the revenue is less stable or predictable — this puts any CFO or financial director on the defensive.
‘Chronically understaffed’: Confessions of an agency exec on the cost of online advertising’s Covid growth|Seb Joseph|February 11, 2021|Digiday
The commission has yet to formally award the work to any contractors.
Vacancy Tax Study Is Giving City Officials Déjà Vu|Lisa Halverstadt and Andrew Keatts|February 10, 2021|Voice of San Diego
The state commission that oversees redistricting has decided to accommodate the state’s top 12 non-English languages, which doesn’t include Somali or Oromo, and advocates worry they’ll be further shut out of the process this year without translation.
Morning Report: Redistricting Issues Could Get Lost in Translation|Voice of San Diego|February 10, 2021|Voice of San Diego

If translation is needed in another language, the commission will provide it if it gets 24 hours’ advanced notice.
African Communities Warn Language Issues Could Shut Them Out of Redistricting|Maya Srikrishnan|February 10, 2021|Voice of San Diego
Instead, the military commission proceedings are bogged down in a pre-trial phase, as it has been for the past three years.
Prosecutors Have No Idea When 9/11 Mastermind’s Trial Will Start|Tim Mak|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The military commission this week was to focus on the alleged FBI infiltration of one of the defense teams.
Prosecutors Have No Idea When 9/11 Mastermind’s Trial Will Start|Tim Mak|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Add to that the per diems paid for the 105 military commission personnel who attend the proceedings, which cost more than $16,000.
Prosecutors Have No Idea When 9/11 Mastermind’s Trial Will Start|Tim Mak|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Facing a political backlash, they reversed course in 2011 and announced that the military commission process would be restarted.
Prosecutors Have No Idea When 9/11 Mastermind’s Trial Will Start|Tim Mak|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was from a former Railroad Commission employee who had gone to work for an oil and gas developer.
Two Texas Regulators Tried to Enforce the Rules. They Were Fired.|David Hasemyer, InsideClimate News|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The great Mr. Abrahams had an unlimited commission to secure at any price, a long list of great works.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
Under the pressing circumstances the military authorities pretended to be doing something there, and sent up a commission.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
Richard Cromwell's parliament dissolved by commission under the great seal, at the instance of Desborough.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
It stood first on the list of lines recommended p. 109for construction in the Report of the Allport Commission.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland|Joseph Tatlow
He accompanied the Prince to France, and obtained a commission in Ogilvie's regiment of foot.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison

British Dictionary definitions for commission

commission

/ (kəˈmɪʃən) /

noun

a duty or task committed to a person or group to perform

authority to undertake or perform certain duties or functions

a document granting such authority

military

a document conferring a rank on an officer
the rank or authority thereby granted

a group of people charged with certain dutiesa commission of inquiry

a government agency or board empowered to exercise administrative, judicial, or legislative authoritySee also Royal Commission

the authority given to a person or organization to act as an agent to a principal in commercial transactions
the fee allotted to an agent for services rendered

the state of being charged with specific duties or responsibilities

the act of committing a sin, crime, etc

something, esp a sin, crime, etc, that is committed

good working condition or (esp of a ship) active service (esp in the phrases in or into commission, out of commission)

US the head of a department of municipal government

verb

(tr) to grant authority to; charge with a duty or task

(tr) military to confer a rank on or authorize an action by

(tr) to equip and test (a ship) for active service

to make or become operative or operablethe plant is due to commission next year

(tr) to place an order for (something)to commission a portrait

Derived forms of commission

commissional or commissionary, adjective

Word Origin for commission

C14: from Old French, from Latin commissiō a bringing together, from committere to commit

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

Cultural definitions for commission

commission

A fee paid to a broker or other financial agent for negotiating a sale. The fee is based on a percentage of the sale price.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with commission

commission

see in commission; on commission; out of commission.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.