commando
Americannoun
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(inWorld War II )
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any of the specially trained Allied military units used for surprise, hit-and-run raids against Axis forces.
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a member of any of these units.
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any military unit organized for operations similar to those of the commandos of World War II.
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a member of a military assault unit or team trained to operate quickly and aggressively in especially urgent, threatening situations, as against terrorists holding hostages.
idioms
noun
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an amphibious military unit trained for raiding
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a member of such a unit
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the basic unit of the Royal Marine Corps
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(originally) an armed force raised by Boers during the Boer War
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(modifier) denoting or relating to a commando or force of commandos
a commando raid
a commando unit
adverb
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of commando
First recorded in 1785–95; from Afrikaans kommando “raid, raiding party, a unit of militia,” from Portuguese commando “unit commanded,” noun derivative of commandar “to command ”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Relatively stable and prosperous, Ghana has hosted American-led commando exercises aimed at helping West African countries combat a growing threat from al Qaeda and Islamic State militants.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
Sri Lanka's police kennels department was mobilised to ensure that local street dogs did not attack Aloka, who was led on a leash held by an army commando.
From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026
One North Korean commando, captured during a daring 1968 mission to assassinate the South Korean president in Seoul, recalls the confusion he felt when first encountering Christianity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
Now, nearly four decades after Arnold Schwarzenegger’s commando Dutch Schaefer survived his encounter with a Yautja – long before anyone knew that’s what they were called – “Predator: Badlands” makes one of them the hero.
From Salon ● Nov. 12, 2025
He sailed through the air like a true feline commando.
From "Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat" by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth
On the way, he connected with another retired general and a group of commandoes.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 9, 2023
The operation, which Akar said targeted the Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan regions of northern Iraq, also included commandoes who have “entered the region by infiltration from land”, he was cited as saying.
From Reuters ● Apr. 17, 2022
In a world run by women, these daughter-retrieving commandoes would be at home.
From Slate ● Mar. 9, 2022
"Six-hundred men - military; they had army, commandoes, Royal Air Force, bloodhounds, Anson planes - and they still failed to find the twins."
From BBC ● May 25, 2018
They had no reserves to send down to the assistance of their forces in the southern borders, and could only assist these by withdrawing men from commandoes already in the field.
From South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 2 (of 6) From the Commencement of the War to the Battle of Colenso, 15th Dec. 1899 by Creswicke, Louis
American commandos snatched the pair from their compound in Caracas on January 3.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
“Whereas before, I don’t know if I’m going to get hit with some balcony assessment that these condo commandos are hiding.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
Sunday's operation, which saw commandos fast-roping from a helicopter on to the tanker, was the first of its kind carried out by UK armed forces.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
Young’s team, the so-called Greek Desk, was comprised of fellow Ivy League archaeologists and Greek-American commandos.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
They wore black jeans and T-shirts, with black grease paint on their faces like commandos.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
