commissary

noun

com·​mis·​sary ˈkä-mə-ˌser-ē 

-ˌse-rē

plural commissaries

1

: one delegated by a superior to execute a duty or an office

2

a

: a store for equipment and provisions

especially : a supermarket for military personnel

b

: food supplies

c

: a lunchroom especially in a movie studio

commissarial

ˌkä-mə-ˈsär-ē-əl 

-ˈser-

adjective

Synonyms

• agent
• assignee
• attorney
• delegate
• deputy
• envoy
• factor
• minister
• procurator
• proxy
• rep
• representative

Examples of commissary in a Sentence

will serve as commissary of religious education for the whole diocese

Recent Examples on the Web

Their lunches include a main course and dessert, which arrive to the schools already prepared after being cooked in a commissary kitchen that the nonprofit shares with the India Heritage Foundation. —Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 12 June 2025

Chinese grocers in the Delta sold to Black residents, whom white merchants did not want to serve and who, in the immediate afterlife of slavery (when Black people had to rely on plantation commissaries), had not amassed enough capital to purchase or open stores themselves. —Erika Hayasaki, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 May 2025

The Vatican has its own post office, commissary, bank, railway station, electrical plant, television center, publishing house, internet domain (.va), radio station and newspaper, according to the U.S. Department of State. —Greta Cross, USA Today, 21 Apr. 2025

There’s no refrigerator, no knives, no staples other than a few spices from commissary. —Rachel Flynn, People.com, 3 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English commissarie, borrowed from Anglo-French commissaire, commissarie, borrowed from Medieval Latin commissārius, from Latin commissus (past participle of committere "to join together, engage, place in the keeping of, entrust, bring about") + -ārius -ary entry 1 — more at commit

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for commissary

• accessary
• adversary
• ancillary
• arbitrary
• aviary
• axillary
• beriberi
• breviary
• budgetary
• capillary
• catenary
• cautionary

Kids Definition

commissary

noun

com·​mis·​sary ˈkäm-ə-ˌser-ē 

plural commissaries

1

: a person to whom a duty or office is entrusted by someone of higher rank

2

: a store that provides supplies (as food) especially to members of the military and their families