commissioner

noun

com·​mis·​sion·​er kə-ˈmi-sh(ə-)nər How to pronounce commissioner (audio)
: 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 noun

Examples of commissioner in a Sentence

The baseball commissioner decided to suspend the players for 10 games.
Recent Examples on the Web Put the commissioner’s position back in the governor’s cabinet. John Seiler, Orange County Register, 20 Mar. 2024 What do the Obamas, the chairperson of Starbucks and the LPGA commissioner have in common? Eleanor McCrary, The Courier-Journal, 15 Mar. 2024 The potential loss of insurers prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to issue an executive order commanding the insurance commissioner to take action to address issues with the insurance market and expand coverage options for consumers. Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2024 Strada said she was disappointed in the commissioner and felt betrayed. Ashan Singh, ABC News, 15 Mar. 2024 These commissioners make up a voting body that sets hunting and fishing regulations in the Commonwealth. Travis Hall, Field & Stream, 14 Mar. 2024 The state's agricultural commissioner also told CBS News that thousands of heads of cattle have died in the fires, threatening to force many ranchers and farmers off their land completely. Li Cohen, CBS News, 13 Mar. 2024 Yet the biggest name is Helen Dixon, Ireland’s former data protection commissioner. Stephanie Bodoni, Fortune Europe, 8 Mar. 2024 Please list former commissioner George Kliavkoff’s five biggest errors during his Pac-12 tenure, in your opinion. Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'commissioner.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of commissioner was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near commissioner

Cite this Entry

“Commissioner.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commissioner. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

commissioner

noun
com·​mis·​sion·​er kə-ˈmish-(ə-)nər How to pronounce commissioner (audio)
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
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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