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

Once Duke product Cooper Flagg is taken off the board with the No. 1 overall pick by the Dallas Mavericks and shakes the hand of NBA commissioner Adam Silver at Barclays Center, questions about who will be around for the Charlotte Hornets to select at No. 4 should begin percolating. —Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 25 June 2025

On Wednesday night in New York, NBA commissioner Adam Silver will announce the Dallas Mavericks select Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. —Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 June 2025

And what that trail shows is the pro-Home Rule campaign had just five donors contribute more than $110K; three developer/business entities from outside Douglas County, and the spouses of a developer/commissioner. —Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 23 June 2025

In March, President Trump fired the FTC’s two Democratic commissioners, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya. —Todd Spangler, Variety, 23 June 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