commander

[kuh-man-der, -mahn-]

noun

1. a person who commands.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3. the second in command of larger British warships

4. someone who holds authority

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

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

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

Other Word Forms

• commandership noun
• subcommander noun
• subcommandership noun
• undercommander noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of commander¹

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

Example Sentences

Here he is invoking another evangelical tradition by portraying himself as a commander who will fight a spiritual war on behalf of his congregation.

From Salon

But Jumanne Muliro, the commander of the Dar es Salaam police special zone, told the BBC at the time that their allegations were "hearsay" and asked them to present evidence for investigations.

From BBC

VanLandingham sees the leadership of our armed forces under pressure “to not engage in the critical thinking, which, as commanders, they are required to do, and to instead go along to get along.”

From Los Angeles Times

Jair Bolsonaro is also accused of calling a meeting with top commanders of the armed forces in December 2022, in which he allegedly presented them with a proposed coup plan and asked them to join.

From BBC

City of London Police said: "The decision... was made at commander level and... was also endorsed in a strategic investigation review by a senior officer from an external force."

From BBC

Related Words

• administrator 
• captain 
• chief 
• commandant 
• director 
• head 
• officer 
• ruler