commissioner

noun

com·​mis·​sion·​er kə-ˈmi-sh(ə-)nər 

: a person with a commission: such as

a

: a member of a commission

b

: the representative of the governmental authority in a district, province, or other unit often having both judicial and administrative powers

c

: the officer in charge of a department or bureau of the public service

d

: the administrative head of a professional sport

commissionership

kə-ˈmi-sh(ə-)nər-ˌship 

noun

Examples of commissioner in a Sentence

The baseball commissioner decided to suspend the players for 10 games.

Recent Examples on the Web

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will attempt to prove that Meta has maintained a monopoly over social networking through its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, all while the agency faces internal upheaval following President Trump’s ouster of two Democratic commissioners. —Julia Shapero, The Hill, 14 Apr. 2025

Although the community lies beyond the acreage American Forests has eyed for restoration, Dale mentioned the idea to Ellie Torres, a county commissioner who represents the area. —Laura Mallonee, Wired News, 12 Apr. 2025

Sean Morrison, a Republican and one of a handful of commissioners who has been on the board since the first Tyler contract was inked, said county leaders share the blame for the property tax project going over time and over budget. —A.d. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 10 Apr. 2025

There’s only one person above me, and that’s the commissioner. —Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 9 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, "person empowered to carry out defined duties," borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Medieval Latin commissiōnārius, from commissiōn-, commissiō commission entry 1 + Latin -ārius -ary entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing commissioner

• high commissioner
• resident commissioner

Rhymes for commissioner

• conditioner
• parishioner
• petitioner
• positioner
• practitioner
• missioner

Kids Definition

commissioner

noun

com·​mis·​sion·​er kə-ˈmish-(ə-)nər 

1

: a member of a commission

2

: an official in charge of a government department

Police Commissioner

Legal Definition

commissioner

noun

com·​mis·​sion·​er

: a person with a commission: as

a

: a member of a commission

b

often capitalized : the officer in charge of a government agency

a police commissioner