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

As a county commissioner, Higgins took on affordable housing and transportation as her main issues. —Tess Riski, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2025

Harris also aligned himself with Casey Nesbit, running unopposed for township clerk, Cassandra Holbert Elston, uncontested reelection as assessor without an opponent, and Antwon Russell, challenged by Republican Tim DeYoung for highway commissioner. —Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr. 2025

The ax started falling a few days after Marty Makary was sworn in as President Donald Trump’s Food and Drug Administration commissioner. —Dan Morrison, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2025

Last November, Seminole voters overwhelmingly approved charter amendments to tighten the rules, requiring supermajority votes by county commissioners — or at least four votes on the five-member board — to remove and develop property within the boundary. —Martin E. Comas, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 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