commander

1 of 2

noun (1)

com·​mand·​er kə-ˈman-dər How to pronounce commander (audio)
Synonyms of commandernext
1
: one in an official position of command or control: such as
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 noun

commandership

2 of 2

noun (2)

com·​mand·​er·​ship kə-ˈman-dər-ˌship How to pronounce commandership (audio)
: the rank or title of commander

Synonyms of commander

Examples of commander in a Sentence

Noun (1) 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
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Noun
The selectees, announced yesterday (June 9), were NASA's Randy Bresnik (commander), the European Space Agency's (ESA's) Luca Parmitano (pilot), and NASA mission specialists Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio. Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, 10 June 2026 Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir, a key mediator to those talks, met Friday with the commander-in-chief of Lebanon’s beleaguered armed forces, which would be charged with disarming Hezbollah and ensuring its forces do not return to southern Lebanon. Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 9 June 2026 Artificial intelligence is used to analyze patterns of behavior detected by the sensors aboard the drones, which is then shared with commanders and ships operating in the region. Luis Martinez, ABC News, 9 June 2026 The Artemis program's version of Apollo 8, sending Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a flight around the moon, was successfully completed in April. William Harwood, CBS News, 9 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for commander

Word History

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of commander was in the 14th century

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Cite this Entry

“Commander.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commander. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.

Kids Definition

commander

noun
com·​mand·​er kə-ˈman-dər How to pronounce commander (audio)
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 noun

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