commander in chief

noun phrase

: one who holds the supreme command of an armed force

Examples of commander in chief in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Just last month, Anderson Cooper stood up for Collins after the commander in chief commented on her appearance while speaking with reporters at the White House. — Kathleen Perricone, Entertainment Weekly, 28 July 2026

Days before becoming president after an election that banned most opposition, Min Aung Hlaing appointed longtime loyalist and former spymaster Ye Win Oo as the military’s new commander in chief. — Reuters, NBC news, 27 July 2026

After some back and forth, Congress funded a navy in October of 1775 and named Esek Hopkins its commander in chief a couple months later. — Catherine Messier, The Providence Journal, 3 July 2026

During the war Menelaus serves under his elder brother Agamemnon, the commander in chief of the Greek forces. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1654, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for commander in chief

• beef
• brief
• fief
• grief
• leaf
• lief
• reef
• reif
• seif
• sheaf
• thief
• belief

Kids Definition

commander in chief

: one who holds the supreme command of an armed force