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

Its introduction will provide an early opportunity for the next commissioner to demonstrate progress on a recurring source of frustration. — Jackson Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026

The top trade envoys for China and the European Union agreed Friday on a broad initial deal following two days of talks aimed at calming escalating tensions over trade imbalances, the EU trade commissioner said. — Sam McNeil, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026

County commissioners recently approved both items to go to voters. — Kansas City Star, 10 Oct. 2026

French, a Republican candidate for Texas railroad commissioner with a history of extreme posting, had shared a photo on X of University of Texas at Austin students celebrating the football team’s comeback win against Ohio State. — Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 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