COMMANDING OFFICER Synonyms: 6 Similar Words

commanding officer

noun

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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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of commanding officer Cruise played Chief John Anderton, the commanding officer of the precrime unit, while Farrell played Danny Witwer, an agent from the Department of Justice. — Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 12 June 2026 Tristan Oliveria, the commanding officer, later said the employee was swimming with a colleague during a lunch break when the attack happened. — Doha Madani, NBC news, 9 June 2026 Adam Peeples, commanding officer of Ashland, said in a statement. — Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 June 2026 After giving his all during basic training and becoming one of the top trainees in boot camp, his commanding officers assigned him to the kitchen because of his emotional state. — Laura Sirikul, Forbes.com, 30 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for commanding officer

Recent Examples of Synonyms for commanding officer

Noun

Ukraine's drone force commander, Robert Brovdi, known as Magyar, said via Telegram that 14 Russian ships were hit in the Sea of Azov on Thursday evening, taking the number of Russian vessels stuck by Ukrainian drones to 35 over the last 96 hours.

— Sam Meredith, CNBC, 10 July 2026
The two-pilot setup matches the arrangement found in the B-2 Spirit bomber, where a pilot and a mission commander share flight duties and alternate tasks during long missions.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 10 July 2026

Definition of commander

Noun

Trump fired the woman commandant of the Coast Guard, the Black combat-veteran Air Force general who was the chair of the Joint Chiefs, and the first woman to be the chief of naval operations.

— David Remnick, New Yorker, 17 June 2026
The State Police will also hire a civilian director to work alongside the academy’s commandant, and institute baseline physical and psychological screenings for recruits before the academy begins.

— Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 20 May 2026

Definition of commandant

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commanding

commanding officer

commanding officers

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“Commanding officer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commanding%20officer. Accessed 14 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of commanding officer

noun

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