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

Homan, speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, blasted Boston police commissioner Michael Cox for doubling down on the police department's policy to not cooperate with civil detainer requests that don't involve criminal charges. —Steph Solis, Axios, 24 Feb. 2025

Last week, the state corrections commissioner suspended enforcement of parts of a state law that places limits on solitary confinement — a move the Prisoners’ Rights Project calls unlawful and dangerous to inmates. —Jay Root, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2025

Hartman is still awaiting word from his appeal to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman regarding his 10-game suspension that has him ineligible to return until March 9 against Pittsburgh. —Michael Russo, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025

Only Mayor Buddy Dyer and two of the six commissioners, Patty Sheehan and Robert Stuart, shared their thoughts on the designs. —Silas Morgan, Orlando Sentinel, 24 Feb. 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