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

What the executive order entails The task force will be headed by Sam Levine, the new commissioner of the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. —Marcia Kramer, CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026

Less than two months after Milton, Charlotte County’s coastal consultants presented commissioners with their options. —Jack Prator, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026

Schwartz is a former NYC traffic commissioner. —Sam Schwartz, New York Daily News, 5 Jan. 2026

Pertaining to the allegations of daycare fraud in Minnesota, as the Washington Examiner previously reported, Tikki Brown, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families, said her office is conducting another investigation into the recent accusations of daycare fraud. —Washington Examiner Staff, The Washington Examiner, 5 Jan. 2026

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