commissioner

American  

[kuh-mish-uh-ner] / kəˈmɪʃ ə nər /

noun

• commissioners
  plural

1. a person commissioned to act officially; member of a commission.

2. a government official or representative in charge of a department or district.

   the police commissioner; the commissioner of a colony.

3. an official chosen by an athletic association to exercise broad administrative or judicial authority.

   the baseball commissioner.

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commissioner British  

/ kəˈmɪʃənə /

noun

1. a person authorized to perform certain tasks or endowed with certain powers

2. government

   1. any of several types of civil servant

   2. an ombudsman See also Health Service Commissioner Parliamentary Commissioner

3. a member of a commission

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• commissionership
  noun
• subcommissioner
  noun
• subcommissionership
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• commissioners
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of commissioner

1400–50; late Middle English < Anglo-French. See commission, -er ²

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Explanation

The noun commissioner refers to someone in charge of a formal group or organization, such as a police commissioner or a baseball commissioner. As you might guess, commissioner is related to commission, which describes a group that carries out a particular function. Commissioner can describe an official who directs or regulates a commission, or it can be that person's title. For example, if Theodore Young is the housing commissioner, in formal situations you’d refer to him as Commissioner Young.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

commissioner commissioners

“No mayor has retained the same police commissioner from the administration prior to theirs since 1964,” she said, referring to Tisch, who was elevated under the previous mayor, Eric Adams.

From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026

Jim Cheffers, a former City Section commissioner, used to officiate in the Pac-8.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

Simon Foster, West Midlands police and crime commissioner and chairman of the region's road safety partnership board, said the findings were "deeply concerning".

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

Its findings can result in disciplinary action, including a recommendation to the police commissioner to fire an officer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

He had been police commissioner for just twenty-seven months.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

Restoring that trust won't be easy, nor will finding replacements for the current commissioners when their term comes to an end.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

Current regulations are enforced by county agricultural commissioners, who police pesticides in their jurisdictions and also promote California’s $61-billion agricultural industry.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

In one instance, the report says, the two commissioners even wrote a letter complaining to the chief secretary, the top bureaucrat in the Indian government.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

State officials do not supervise the agricultural commissioners, who are appointed by and report to their elected boards of supervisors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

Along with the other two city commissioners, Jabo Waggoner and Art Hanes, Connor bought concrete and poured it in the golf course holes.

From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry

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