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

It had made sense for the BBC to commission The Claudia Winkleman Show, given the presenter's popularity on programmes such as Strictly.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

The local agency’s commission voted to go to court instead.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

From April 2021 through January 2025, the commission pursued crypto companies through more than 100 legal actions and imposed billions in penalties.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

After opting against turning it into a historical monument to avoid drawing extremists, an expert commission decided to make it a police station.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

The other two men on the diplomatic commission were Deane and Arthur Lee, who, as a lawyer in London, had spied, at great risk, for the Patriots.

From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen

The organisation which commissions specialist NHS care in Wales said funding was available but treatment was decided by clinical assessment.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

“Please note: affiliates who use AI-generated content to promote our products will have their commissions removed,” the memo read.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

Members of the office said the county, including its commissions, is still obligated to meet with labor unions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

Whoever you choose, ask if they charge a fee — or earn commissions from investing your money in certain products.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026

He can’t get commissions, and when he does, he can’t finish them.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

Like Johnson’s pictures of coal operations, Mather’s work was commissioned by owners for investors and stockholders.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

The statement said that UUP leader Jon Burrows had "commissioned a rapid review as a preliminary step to establish the facts regarding Donaldson during his membership of the party".

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

The couple commissioned Kahlo and Rivera to paint portraits of Natasha.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

Sir Stephen's review was commissioned by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer after his government's attempt to reform welfare last year.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

Milo had been knighted, commissioned a major in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and named Assistant Governor-General of Malta because he had brought the egg trade there.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

A Sky-ITV company would be foolish to pivot away from commissioning programmes with a national identity.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

"Nine years after my mother's murder, the man accused of commissioning it stands trial," the journalist's son, Paul Caruana Galizia, wrote on social media.

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026

The author’s ambivalence resembles that of the fellow who supposedly protested the mixing of classes on the dance floor by commissioning a wood-and-plaster coffin as a costume for a Cornelys masquerade in 1771.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

"Even in the first months after commissioning, we expect to start identifying promising events."

From Science Daily ● May 15, 2026

The palace would send only an expert—a true connoisseur—to handle the task of commissioning work.

From "A Single Shard" by Linda Sue Park

Related Words

• agency
• authority
• delegation
• office