commission

American  

[kuh-mish-uhn] / kəˈmɪʃ ən /

noun

• commissions
  plural

1. 

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

2. an authoritative order, charge, or direction.

3. authority granted for a particular action or function.

4. a document granting such authority.

5. 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.

6. the power thus granted.

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

8. a group of persons authoritatively charged with particular functions.

   a parks commission.

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

10. a task or matter committed to one's charge; official assignment.

    The architect received a commission to design an office building.

11. the act of committing or perpetrating a crime, error, etc..

    The commission of a misdemeanor is punishable by law.

12. something that is committed.

    He was held accountable for his evil commissions.

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

14. 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.

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verb (used with object)

• commissions,
  present (3rd person singular)
• commissioned,
  past participle,  past
• commissioning
  present participle

1. to give a commission to.

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

2. to authorize; send on a mission.

   I've been commissioned by my friend overseas to find him a cheap apartment in New York.

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

4. to give a commission or order for.

   The owners commissioned a painting for the building's lobby.

idioms

1. in commission,

   1. in service.

   2. in operating order.

      A great deal of work will be necessary to put this car in commission again.

   3. Navy. Also into commission. (of a ship) manned and in condition for or ordered to active service.

2. out of commission,

   1. not in service.

      Telephone lines were out of commission for several days after the storm.

   2. not in operating order.

      Sorry, but I can't bake cupcakes for you while the stove is out of commission.

3. 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.

commission British  

/ kəˈmɪʃən /

noun

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

2. authority to undertake or perform certain duties or functions

3. a document granting such authority

4. military

   1. a document conferring a rank on an officer

   2. the rank or authority thereby granted

5. a group of people charged with certain duties

   a commission of inquiry

6. a government agency or board empowered to exercise administrative, judicial, or legislative authority See also Royal Commission

7. 1. the authority given to a person or organization to act as an agent to a principal in commercial transactions

   2. the fee allotted to an agent for services rendered

8. the state of being charged with specific duties or responsibilities

9. the act of committing a sin, crime, etc

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

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

12. the head of a department of municipal government

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verb

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

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

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

4. to make or become operative or operable

   the plant is due to commission next year

5. (tr) to place an order for (something)

   to commission a portrait

commission Cultural  

1. 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.

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commission More Idioms  

1. see in commission; on commission; out of commission.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intercommission
  noun
• recommission
  noun
• subcommission
  noun
• commissionable
  adjective
• commissional
  adjective
• commissive
  adjective
• uncommissioned
  adjective
• commissively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• commissions
  plural

Participles

• commissioning
  present
• commissioned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• commission
  simple
• commissions
  simple
• have commissioned
  perfect
• has commissioned
  perfect
• am commissioning
  progressive
• are commissioning
  progressive
• is commissioning
  progressive
• have been commissioning
  perfect progressive
• has been commissioning
  perfect progressive

Past

• commissioned
  simple
• had commissioned
  perfect
• was commissioning
  progressive
• were commissioning
  progressive
• had been commissioning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will commission
  simple
• will have commissioned
  perfect
• will be commissioning
  progressive
• will have been commissioning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of commission

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin commissiōn-, stem of commissiō “commencement”; equivalent to com- + mission

Explanation

The word commission has several very different meanings, but in its most basic meaning, commission is the act of passing a responsibility to someone else. If you receive a government commission, that means you have been assigned a task by the government. Another common meaning of commission is the amount of money an employee earns when they sell something: In addition to his salary, he gets a 1% commission on each sale. A commission is also an order for someone to do something and get paid: The artist received a commission for a new painting to hang in the building lobby. And a commission is a high-ranking position in the armed forces, or a special committee that controls or investigates something.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

commission commissions commissioned commissioning

If the auditor is not happy with what a company proposes, the commission can ask for "corrective measures".

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

Markets will also react to Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union address this morning, with the commission confirming the EU’s willingness to make Canada an associate member of the bloc.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

The Arctic commission has arguably never been more important.

From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026

A Board of Regents commission recommended this change in 2023, and on Monday the Regents voted to instruct the state Education Department to move ahead.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

The presidential commission noted that the research in California and New York was conducted in 2010.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

Instead, the Tribune tracked the grants by reviewing the vehicle authority’s meeting records, as well as documents, agendas and discussions from 101 city councils and county commissions that approved or discussed Flock-related grants.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

Under the city’s ethics law, members of city boards and commissions are prohibited from appearing on fundraising invitations for city candidates.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Mine is paid through vendor commissions from the flights, tours and accommodations we booked.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

Southeast Asia's biggest economy has long battled corruption in its public and private sectors despite strengthening anti-graft laws, creating special investigative commissions and arresting several high profile people.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

At the same time he knew Root had little interest in the business side of architecture and in sowing the relationships at the Chicago Club and Union League that eventually led to commissions.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

A federal film and television tax credit could boost U.S. production spending by $125 billion and add more than 143,000 jobs by 2035, according to a new study commissioned by the Motion Picture Assn.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

According to research commissioned by the Foreign Office, a third of young Britons surveyed did not consider travelling with luggage packed by someone else to be a risk.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

The Danish Environmental Protection Agency commissioned the report as part of its effort to determine how Denmark can meet the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026

The EU executive would not be drawn on what further action it could take, but the independent European Data Protection Board commissioned a report expected in autumn looking at the glasses' "social acceptability".

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

He had seen the sketches and portraits that his mother commissioned back then and knew that, once upon a time, he had been handsome.

From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill

And Charles Furneaux, who later worked at the BBC before becoming commissioning editor at Channel 4, refused to appear after 21 Up following an off-camera argument in which Apted later admitted he went "berserk".

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

For the remainder of its three-month commissioning period, scientists and engineers will carefully test and calibrate Roman's instruments.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026

At the time she was laid to rest without a grave maker, but this month officials memorialized Raker by commissioning a permanent marker at her burial site.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

That assumes successful commissioning and ramp-up at the Edna May processing plant, and the Lake Johnston plant, which has a capacity of 3.2 million tons of ore.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

“Something about commissioning a piece for the circus, he was quite enthused about it before he left.”

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

Related Words

• agency
• authority
• delegation
• office