commissioner

noun

com·​mis·​sion·​er kə-ˈmi-sh(ə-)nər 

: a person with a commission: such as

a

: a member of a commission

b

: the representative of the governmental authority in a district, province, or other unit often having both judicial and administrative powers

c

: the officer in charge of a department or bureau of the public service

d

: the administrative head of a professional sport

commissionership

kə-ˈmi-sh(ə-)nər-ˌship 

noun

Examples of commissioner in a Sentence

The baseball commissioner decided to suspend the players for 10 games.

Recent Examples on the Web

Still, commissioners noted that with a $400 million budget deficit last year the county needs to scrutinize every major purchase. —Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2026

Trump first named Bessent as acting commissioner and shortly thereafter created the new position of CEO, tapping Bisignano. —Shawn Tully, Fortune, 31 Jan. 2026

Among them are Dale Holness, a former Broward County commissioner who lost a special primary election in 2021 to Cherfilus-McCormick by five votes. —Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 31 Jan. 2026

Earlier this month, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said the league would backstop the teams that elected to cut ties with their RSNs. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 30 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, "person empowered to carry out defined duties," borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Medieval Latin commissiōnārius, from commissiōn-, commissiō commission entry 1 + Latin -ārius -ary entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing commissioner

• high commissioner
• resident commissioner

Rhymes for commissioner

• conditioner
• parishioner
• petitioner
• positioner
• practitioner
• missioner

Kids Definition

commissioner

noun

com·​mis·​sion·​er kə-ˈmish-(ə-)nər 

1

: a member of a commission

2

: an official in charge of a government department

Police Commissioner

Legal Definition

commissioner

noun

com·​mis·​sion·​er

: a person with a commission: as

a

: a member of a commission

b

often capitalized : the officer in charge of a government agency

a police commissioner