commando

noun

com·​man·​do kə-ˈman-(ˌ)dō 

plural commandos or commandoes

1

South Africa

a

: a military unit or command of the Boers

b

: a raiding expedition

2

a

: a military unit trained and organized as shock troops especially for hit-and-run raids into enemy territory

b

: a member of such a unit

Phrases

go commando

slang : to wear no underwear

Examples of commando in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Under the plan, elite commandos were to be smuggled to the Fordo site without being detected. —Yossi Melman, ProPublica, 7 Aug. 2025

On March 11, 1968, Vietnamese commandos overran the site in Laos with grenades and mortars, and the American men sought safety on a narrow ledge atop the mountain. —Lauren Brensel, Sun Sentinel, 25 July 2025

Your torch improves accuracy in Killing Floor 3 Your torch improves accuracy in Killing Floor 3 Tripwire Interactive The commando wields a reliable assault rifle alongside a fierce auto-firing drone triggered with RB + LB. —Griff Griffin, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 July 2025

Over the past six months Microsoft's recruiting commandoes have lured some two dozen of Google's AI experts, according to a Financial Times report on Tuesday. —Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 23 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Afrikaans kommando, from Dutch commando command, from Spanish comando, from comandar to command, from Late Latin commandare

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for commando

• afterglow
• akimbo
• albino
• aliquot
• allegro
• amigo
• apropos
• audio
• bungalow
• calico
• calypso
• cameo

Kids Definition

commando

noun

com·​man·​do kə-ˈman-dō 

plural commandos or commandoes

1

: a military unit trained and organized for surprise raids

2

: a member of a commando