commandeer
verb
Did you know?
Military forces have always had the power to commandeer houses. The Declaration of Independence complains about the way the British soldiers have done it, and the third Amendment to the Constitution states that the commandeering of people's houses shall be done only in a way prescribed by law. Almost anything—food, supplies, livestock, etc.—can be militarily commandeered when the need arises. But you don't have to be in the military for someone to "pull rank" on you: Your father may commandeer the car just when you were about to take it out for the evening, your teacher may commandeer your cell phone as you're texting in the middle of class, or your older sister may commandeer the TV remote to watch some lousy dancing competition.
Examples of commandeer in a Sentence
Ana Ceballos, Miami Herald, 24 June 2025
Trump commandeered California’s National Guard to put troops on the ground in Los Angeles, and mobilized U.S. Marines to that city.
—Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 12 June 2025
Anderson and Forrest met in 1977, four years after DJ Kool Herc commandeered the turntables at a back-to-school party in Morris Heights and helped invent hip-hop in the process.
—Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 8 June 2025
Cancer ignores this division, using inflammation to commandeer the very circuits that drive a patient’s will to act.
—Adam Kepecs, The Conversation, 10 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for commandeer
Cite this Entry
“Commandeer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commandeer. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
commandeer
verb
Share