as in commander
one in official command especially of a military force or base
reported directly to the fort's commanding officer
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Recent Examples of commanding officer
The dispatcher informed the commanding officer that Brown had five working officers and only two were available to provide him assistance at the time.
—
Mark Reynolds, The Providence Journal, 9 Feb. 2026
Tom Cruise is Precrime's chief commanding officer, but the program is turned back around on him when he's flagged as a future murderer himself.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Jan. 2026
Earl Potter, the vessel's commanding officer.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 16 Dec. 2025
The Navy deemed the collision avoidable and relieved the commanding officer.
—MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for commanding officer
Mark Reynolds, The Providence Journal, 9 Feb. 2026
Tom Cruise is Precrime's chief commanding officer, but the program is turned back around on him when he's flagged as a future murderer himself.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Jan. 2026
Earl Potter, the vessel's commanding officer.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 16 Dec. 2025
The Navy deemed the collision avoidable and relieved the commanding officer.
—MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for commanding officer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for commanding officer
Noun
-
The release was accompanied by a statement from the commander of Ramat David Air Base describing recent missions flown deep into Iranian territory, including operations over the capital, Tehran.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Our commanders factor all of this.—
Major Garrett,
CBS News,
8 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
With a German commandant enraged, Edmonds stood his ground and invoked prisoners' rights under international law.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
2 Mar. 2026
-
The controversial wording was later removed after two Democratic lawmakers put a hold on Lunday’s nomination for commandant until the manual was changed.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
25 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Commanding officer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commanding%20officer. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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