commandeer

verb

com·​man·​deer ˌkä-mən-ˈdir 

commandeered; commandeering; commandeers

transitive verb

1

a

: to compel to perform military service

Civilians were commandeered by the army and forced to fight.

b

: to seize for military purposes

The soldiers commandeered civilian vehicles to help transport the injured.

2

: to take arbitrary or forcible possession of

The city commandeered 60 acres of the property by eminent domain for a new high school.

Did you know?

Military forces have always had the power to commandeer houses. The Declaration of Independence complains about the way the British soldiers have done it, and the third Amendment to the Constitution states that the commandeering of people's houses shall be done only in a way prescribed by law. Almost anything—food, supplies, livestock, etc.—can be militarily commandeered when the need arises. But you don't have to be in the military for someone to "pull rank" on you: Your father may commandeer the car just when you were about to take it out for the evening, your teacher may commandeer your cell phone as you're texting in the middle of class, or your older sister may commandeer the TV remote to watch some lousy dancing competition.

Synonyms

• hijack
• highjack

Examples of commandeer in a Sentence

The soldiers commandeered civilian vehicles to help transport the injured.

an airliner commandeered by terrorists

Recent Examples on the Web

Much as the first episode after November’s election started out overly earnest before its mid-cold-open rug-pull, this one barely let Miranda cough out one syllable before James Austin Johnson’s Trump commandeered the sketch, dragging it into a hilarious new direction. —Joe Berkowitz, Vulture, 26 Jan. 2025

And there's longstanding Supreme Court precedents that say that the federal government cannot commandeer a state or local government to do the job of the federal government. —Greg Wehner, Fox News, 26 Jan. 2025

Bonta reaffirmed this in a joint statement with 10 other state attorneys general Thursday, writing that the federal government cannot commandeer states into forcing federal laws. —Jennah Pendleton, Sacramento Bee, 24 Jan. 2025

Each of us commandeered one of the miniature half-controllers snapped off the main controller. —Tom Brant, PCMAG, 14 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Afrikaans kommandeer, from French commander to command, from Old French comander

First Known Use

1881, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

commandeer

verb

com·​man·​deer ˌkäm-ən-ˈdi(ə)r 

: to take possession of by force especially for military purposes