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

The league placed him on the commissioner’s exempt list in August after charges were filed against him, and that caused Jacobs to miss the Packers’ first six games of the season. — Steve Megargee, Chicago Tribune, 1 Nov. 2026

Seemant Kumar Singh, Bengaluru's police commissioner, said investigators suspected an electrical leak but were waiting for medical, technical and expert reports to determine the cause, Public TV reported. — Jessica Mekles, FOXNews.com, 31 Oct. 2026

Russell suggested possibly renaming neighboring West Welbourne Avenue after DePugh, something commissioners have the authority to do. — Brian Bell, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 Oct. 2026

Democratic insurance commissioner candidate Jane Kim is running on a platform to shake up California’s beleaguered market for home and auto coverage. — Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 30 Oct. 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