commander

noun

com·​mand·​er kə-ˈman-dər 

1

: one in an official position of command or control: such as

a

: commanding officer

b

: the presiding officer of a society or organization

2

: a commissioned officer in the navy or coast guard ranking above a lieutenant commander and below a captain

commandership

kə-ˈman-dər-ˌship 

noun

Synonyms of commander

• commandant

Examples of commander in a Sentence

a surrender of the fort by the commander without a single shot having been fired

the intrepid commander of the HMS Surprise

Recent Examples on the Web

Donahue is a West Point graduate, former Delta Force commander and former commander of the 82nd Airborne Division. — Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 24 June 2026

Everything else, no matter how massive in scale or painstakingly rendered, is just sound and fury, not the master nor commander of anything. — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 24 June 2026

In some instances, Ukrainian forces have seen a single Russian soldier advancing, according to Yuriy Madyar, the acting deputy commander of Ukraine’s 19th Army Corps, in an interview with the Ukrainian national broadcaster Suspilne last week. — Daria Tarasova-Markina, CNN Money, 24 June 2026

Many Israeli commanders have argued that the proliferation of drones necessitated an expansion of the war against Hezbollah, arguing for strikes and operations farther north to cripple its drone supply lines. — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 24 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing commander

• commander in chief
• lieutenant commander
• wing commander

Rhymes for commander

• bystander
• expander
• highlander
• leander
• meander
• philander
• brander
• candor
• dander
• gander
• grander
• hander

Kids Definition

commander

noun

com·​mand·​er kə-ˈman-dər 

1

: one in official command especially of a military force or base

2

: a naval commissioned officer with a rank just below that of captain

commandership

-ˌship 

noun