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

Chris Latvala, a commissioner in Florida’s Pinellas County who has been a vocal critic of Sternberg, believes a sale is coming. —Evan Drellich, The Athletic, 10 Mar. 2025

Six companies filed requests for proposals, and the board approved Johnson Consulting to help the commissioners determine if the convention center proposals are fiscally sound, Repay said. —Michelle L. Quinn, Chicago Tribune, 7 Mar. 2025

Martin Makary, Trump’s nominee to be Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner, navigated pointed scrutiny Thursday during a Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing. —Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 7 Mar. 2025

At the time, the SSA's acting commissioner, Lee Dudek, acknowledged the data reported by Musk. —Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 6 Mar. 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