commander

[ kuh-man-der, -mahn- ]
See synonyms for commander on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person who commands.

  2. a person who exercises authority; chief officer; leader.

  1. the commissioned officer in command of a military unit.

  2. U.S. Navy. an officer ranking below a captain and above a lieutenant commander.

  3. a police officer in charge of a precinct or other unit.

  4. the chief officer of a commandery in the medieval orders of Knights Hospitalers, Knights Templars, and others.

  5. a member of one of the higher classes or ranks in certain modern fraternal orders, as in the Knights Templars.

Origin of commander

1
1250–1300; Middle English <Old French comandere, equivalent to comand(er) to command + -ere<Latin -ātōr--ator

Other words from commander

  • com·mand·er·ship, noun
  • sub·com·mand·er, noun
  • sub·com·mand·er·ship, noun
  • un·der·com·mand·er, noun

Words Nearby commander

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use commander in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for commander

commander

/ (kəˈmɑːndə) /


noun
  1. an officer in command of a military formation or operation

  2. a naval commissioned rank junior to captain but senior to lieutenant commander

  1. the second in command of larger British warships

  2. someone who holds authority

  3. a high-ranking member of some knightly or fraternal orders

  4. an officer responsible for a district of the Metropolitan Police in London

  5. history the administrator of a house, priory, or landed estate of a medieval religious order

Derived forms of commander

  • commandership, noun

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