commando

noun

com·​man·​do kə-ˈman-(ˌ)dō 

plural commandos or commandoes

1

South Africa

a

: a military unit or command of the Boers

b

: a raiding expedition

2

a

: a military unit trained and organized as shock troops especially for hit-and-run raids into enemy territory

b

: a member of such a unit

see also go commando

Examples of commando in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Below, the troops run toward a Taliban position during a British commando offensive. —Freddie Clayton, NBC news, 1 Feb. 2026

Day in, day out, American planes, drones, and commando teams go out and hunt terrorists across several continents. —Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026

That turns out to be a mistake, since a commando team soon storms his island with orders to kill him on sight. —Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 28 Jan. 2026

Second to going commando, these 20 lightweight, nearly invisible styles won’t let a panty line ruin your workout class (or your tailor’s hard work). —Abby Morgan Lebet, InStyle, 22 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Afrikaans kommando, from Dutch commando command, from Spanish comando, from comandar to command, from Late Latin commandare

First Known Use

1791, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for commando

• afterglow
• akimbo
• albino
• aliquot
• allegro
• amigo
• apropos
• audio
• bungalow
• calico
• calypso
• cameo

Kids Definition

commando

noun

com·​man·​do kə-ˈman-dō 

plural commandos or commandoes

1

: a military unit trained and organized for surprise raids

2

: a member of a commando