commissioner

noun

com·​mis·​sion·​er kə-ˈmi-sh(ə-)nər 

: a person with a commission: such as

a

: a member of a commission

b

: the representative of the governmental authority in a district, province, or other unit often having both judicial and administrative powers

c

: the officer in charge of a department or bureau of the public service

d

: the administrative head of a professional sport

commissionership

kə-ˈmi-sh(ə-)nər-ˌship 

noun

Examples of commissioner in a Sentence

The baseball commissioner decided to suspend the players for 10 games.

Recent Examples on the Web

And two months before his nomination to be FDA commissioner, Marty Makary published an entire book about the perils of medical groupthink. —David Merritt Johns, The Atlantic, 2 Nov. 2025

All six commissioner seats are on the ballot, and at least three will be filled by newcomers. —Josh Bergeron, Charlotte Observer, 2 Nov. 2025

The decision drew the ire of then-NBA commissioner David Stern, who levied a $250,000 dollar fine against the Spurs. —Nick Friedell, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2025

At the very least, a trial program for Stage 32 in Florida has succeeded so far just in the Tampa Bay region, with the collaboration and support of Film Tampa Bay commissioner Tyler Martinolich, who’s done as much as anyone to bring filmmaking to the area. —Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 31 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, "person empowered to carry out defined duties," borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Medieval Latin commissiōnārius, from commissiōn-, commissiō commission entry 1 + Latin -ārius -ary entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing commissioner

• high commissioner
• resident commissioner

Rhymes for commissioner

• conditioner
• parishioner
• petitioner
• positioner
• practitioner
• missioner

Kids Definition

commissioner

noun

com·​mis·​sion·​er kə-ˈmish-(ə-)nər 

1

: a member of a commission

2

: an official in charge of a government department

Police Commissioner

Legal Definition

commissioner

noun

com·​mis·​sion·​er

: a person with a commission: as

a

: a member of a commission

b

often capitalized : the officer in charge of a government agency

a police commissioner