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 sergeant reports to the special operations lieutenant, all overseen by the precinct’s commanding officer.
—
New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 16 Apr. 2025
One night after a party, Stimson and the commanding officer happened to leave at the same time.
—Catherine Musemeche, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Feb. 2025
Glynn has also served as the commanding officer of the 81st Precinct in Bedford-Stuyvesant and the 94th Precinct in Greenpoint.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 10 Apr. 2025
Matthew Press, commanding officer of Valiant, said in a statement.
—Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for commanding officer
New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 16 Apr. 2025
One night after a party, Stimson and the commanding officer happened to leave at the same time.
—Catherine Musemeche, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Feb. 2025
Glynn has also served as the commanding officer of the 81st Precinct in Bedford-Stuyvesant and the 94th Precinct in Greenpoint.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 10 Apr. 2025
Matthew Press, commanding officer of Valiant, said in a statement.
—Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for commanding officer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for commanding officer
Noun
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Israel launched the air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders as well as civilians in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.—
USA Today,
USA Today,
29 June 2025
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Since then, the Mars satellites have acted as a super-speed web of cosmic messengers, passing data, imagery, software changes and commands between the Martian robotic scouts and their commanders across NASA.—
Kevin Holden Platt,
Forbes.com,
28 June 2025
Noun
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Mahoney also performed the duties of acting commandant of the Marine Corps from November 2023 to March 2024 after Gen. Eric Smith suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized.—
Ellen Mitchell,
The Hill,
18 June 2025
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Schumer pointed to Admiral Linda Fagan being relieved of her duties as commandant of the Coast Guard on Jan. 21.—
Adi Guajardo,
CBS News,
20 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Commanding officer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commanding%20officer. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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