commandeer
verb
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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
Simon Shuster, Time, 23 Oct. 2025
The National Guard, asserts the lawsuit, remains a state institution that federal authorities cannot commandeer.
—Andrea Katz, The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2025
Did heavily armed hijackers commandeer a Boeing 727 as part of their plan to further a worldwide revolution against the United States and its allies?
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 15 Oct. 2025
His obsession with the numbers results in Thiel turning South Park into a surveillance state and commandeering all the students’ data to compile a list of cultists.
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 15 Oct. 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 30 Oct. 2025.
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commandeer
verb
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