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

And commissioners have signaled their interest in doing more on housing, by asking the state to restore their power (taken away in the 1980s) to require developers to provide affordable units. —Joe Mathews, The Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2024

There was no public comment on this rezoning, and the planning commissioners unanimously approved it. —Gael Langdon, arkansasonline.com, 6 Nov. 2024

Brendan Carr, the GOP commissioner often tipped as Trump’s likely pick for a new FCC chair, frequently decries the current rules as addressing a threat—providers outright blocking an app or hindering its performance—that no longer exists while giving the commission too much power over providers. —Rob Pegoraro, PCMAG, 6 Nov. 2024

Top leadership roles, such as the FDA commissioner, require confirmation by the Senate, which some experts noted could pose a hurdle for Kennedy. —Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2024

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

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