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 Diamantas becomes acting commissioner as Makary’s streamlining initiatives face an uncertain future, lacking the permanent regulatory changes needed for survival. —Matthew Perrone, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026

Officials share drone program statistics Niemeier also shared data with commissioners from the drones as a first responder program. —Ben Wheeler may 12, Kansas City Star, 12 May 2026

Instead, after outcry over the lack of public scrutiny, commissioners delayed their decision by 90 days. —Richard Stradling, Charlotte Observer, 12 May 2026

Washington — Marty Makary resigned as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday, stepping aside amid a swirl of reports that his tenure was coming to an end over internal policy disagreements. —Olivia Rinaldi, CBS News, 12 May 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