commodore

noun

com·​mo·​dore ˈkä-mə-ˌdȯr 

1

a

: a captain in the navy in command of a squadron

b

: a commissioned officer in the navy formerly ranking above captain and below rear admiral and having an insignia of one star

2

: the ranking officer commanding a body of merchant ships

3

: the chief officer of a yacht club or boating association

Examples of commodore in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Not only as a fellow competitor but as the commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, which has organized the Sydney Hobart Race since the first edition in 1945. —Andrew Rice, New York Times, 17 Dec. 2025

The global network of P-8 aircraft contributes to maritime domain awareness, said U.S. Navy Captain Rodney Erler, commodore of the Commander Task Force 72, a unit that commands maritime patrol aircraft in the Seventh Fleet across the Indo-Pacific region. —Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Oct. 2025

The high school club also operates with the blessing of Marlon Harvey, a 1980 Mount Carmel alum who now is commodore of the Jackson Park Yacht Club. —Susan Degrane, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2025

In February 1942, Alfred Stanford, commodore of the Cruising Club of America, one of the country’s leading amateur sailing groups, sent a proposal to the Navy to use nonmilitary sailing vessels for anti-submarine patrols and rescue operations. —David Wolman, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

probably modification of Dutch commandeur commander, from French, from Old French comandeor, from comander to command

First Known Use

1634, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing commodore

• air commodore

Rhymes for commodore

• albacore
• alongshore
• antiwar
• anymore
• blastopore
• carnivore
• dinosaur
• evermore
• furthermore
• guarantor
• herbivore
• heretofore

Kids Definition

commodore

noun

com·​mo·​dore ˈkäm-ə-ˌdō(ə)r 

-ˌdȯ(ə)r

1

: a naval commissioned officer with a rank just below that of rear admiral

2

: the senior captain of a line of merchant ships