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 the commissioner decides to take over a district, TEA calls for applications from district residents who are interested in serving on the board of managers. —Silas Allen, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 May 2025

Only when the municipal budget hits that minimum will the city be able to unlock the one-time state matching funds, according the commissioner, which apply to every dollar over the former base. —Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 19 May 2025

One of the newest examples is Trump telling the baseball commissioner that Pete Rose should be reinstated. —Chicago Tribune, 19 May 2025

But some of the tornado sirens in the city did not go off, which will be investigated, Sarah Russell, commissioner of the City Emergency Management Agency in St. Louis. —Julia Vargas Jones, CNN Money, 19 May 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