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

Kyle Workman, a Leon County commissioner, told lawmakers that commissioners have no authority in those areas and cannot impose restrictions. — Jack Fink, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026

Venice Howard, acting assistant city manager for Lauderdale Lakes, told county commissioners that her city faces similar funding hike requests from the Sheriff’s Office and would like to see if county control of fire-rescue would be beneficial. — Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel, 20 Aug. 2026

Though some residents remain concerned, others are content to see cash pouring into the county, said Maldonado, the candidate for commissioner. — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 20 Aug. 2026

What’s more, unlike New York, the city doesn’t have its own film commissioner who could advocate for the industry. — Stacy Perman, Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 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