commissioner

noun com·mis·sion·er \ kə-ˈmi-sh(ə-)nər \

|Updated on: 13 Aug 2018

Examples: commissioner in a Sentence

Definition of commissioner

: 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

play \kə-ˈmi-sh(ə-)nər-ˌship\ noun

See commissioner defined for English-language learners

See commissioner defined for kids

Examples of commissioner in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of commissioner from the Web

That thought came to the forefront earlier this week when NBA commissioner Adam Silver admitted that the league is ready to change the NBA's draft age limit back to 18.

— roman stubbs, chicagotribune.com, "At Nike Peach Jam, high school stars ready to see end of NBA's one-and-done era," 13 July 2018
Suárez and first baseman Joey Votto were voted to the team from the players’ ballot while second baseman Scooter Gennett was one of the seven players chosen by the commissioner’s office.

— scott winfield, Cincinnati.com, "ICYMI: FC Cincinnati ties soon-to-be MLS rival, three Cincinnati Reds named MLB All-Stars," 9 July 2018
Still, every year there are some curious choices, either by the fans, players or the commissioner’s office, that leave some deserving candidates off the Midsummer Classic’s initial rosters.

— jorge l. ortiz, USA TODAY, "MLB All-Star Game: Eight biggest roster snubs," 8 July 2018
Both sides have been firmly entrenched, even as NBA commissioner Adam Silver has suggested that travel, and not a deference to tradition, represents the main obstacle to adopting a top-16 playoff format that eschews conference designations.

— ben golliver, SI.com, "2018 NBA Free Agency: The Early Winners And Losers," 5 July 2018
The Kokomo Tribune reports that a Monday meeting of commissioners was very tense; one spectator was expelled.

— Post-Tribune, "State briefs," 3 July 2018
The suit names the county worker who was driving, the county board of commissioners and the county’s parks and recreation department.

— ben brasch, ajc, "Marietta councilman suing Cobb County, seeking money from car crash," 28 June 2018
At least two-thirds of the commissioners must vote to approve a redistricting map.

— kimberlee kruesi, idahostatesman, "GOP wants to unbalance Idaho's independent redistricting commission," 28 June 2018
This body, composed of volunteer commissioners from each city council district, acts as a privacy check on the city when any municipal entity (typically the police department) wants to acquire a technology that may impact individual privacy.

— cyrus farivar, Ars Technica, "Supreme Court surveillance opinion nudges us to think nationally, act locally," 24 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'commissioner.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of commissioner

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

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First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined above

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COMMISSIONER Defined for English Language Learners

commissioner

noun

Definition of commissioner for English Language Learners

: a member of a commission : one of a group of people who have been given the official job of finding information about something or controlling something
: an official who is in charge of a government department or part of a government department
: an official who is in charge of a major professional sport (such as baseball, football, or hockey)