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

Campbell addressed his relationship with the conference commissioners in the interview Friday with Fox News Digital. —Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 28 Apr. 2026

Hillsborough commissioner Joshua Wostal has proposed using a tourist development tax to pay the county’s portion of construction, but that would require the Rays to pay all the upfront costs for construction and get reimbursed with public funds over the next 35 years. —John Romano, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Apr. 2026

The primary will also determine Cobb County’s District 1 commissioner, where two Republicans face off. —Reed Williams, AJC.com, 28 Apr. 2026

Tuesday’s session focused on what commissioners and attorneys described as a lack of consequences for federal immigration agents’ misconduct. —Olivia Olander, Chicago Tribune, 28 Apr. 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