commandeer
verb
Did you know?
Military forces have always had the power to commandeer houses. The Declaration of Independence complains about the way the British soldiers have done it, and the third Amendment to the Constitution states that the commandeering of people's houses shall be done only in a way prescribed by law. Almost anything—food, supplies, livestock, etc.—can be militarily commandeered when the need arises. But you don't have to be in the military for someone to "pull rank" on you: Your father may commandeer the car just when you were about to take it out for the evening, your teacher may commandeer your cell phone as you're texting in the middle of class, or your older sister may commandeer the TV remote to watch some lousy dancing competition.
Examples of commandeer in a Sentence
Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2025
Prince removes his gloves with his teeth and throws them into the crowd before commandeering a guitar from someone in Brown’s band.
—Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 15 Mar. 2025
The restaurant doesn’t so much enter the seafood conversation as elegantly commandeer it.
—Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2025
One day later, on March 12, Gov. Gavin Newsom banned gatherings of more than 250 people and began readying state and local governments to commandeer hotels for treatment, building on his March 4 state of emergency.
—Andrew Keatts, Axios, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for commandeer
Cite this Entry
“Commandeer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commandeer. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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commandeer
verb
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