commando

noun

com·​man·​do kə-ˈman-(ˌ)dō 

plural commandos or commandoes

1

South Africa

a

: a military unit or command of the Boers

b

: a raiding expedition

2

a

: a military unit trained and organized as shock troops especially for hit-and-run raids into enemy territory

b

: a member of such a unit

Phrases

go commando

slang : to wear no underwear

Examples of commando in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Part of this strategy is using precision strikes or commandos to take out senior North Korean officials and vital command centers before attacks can be carried out. —Barbara A. Perry, Newsweek, 28 Jan. 2025

After a standoff between police and commandos, the Colombians retreated, allowing the inspector to get to the front door. —Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 26 Jan. 2025

The dozen or so Ukrainian commandos and their supporting units fought scores of North Koreans at close range with sniper rifles and drones. —David Axe, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025

What’s worse, one of the commandos is a sniper and starts shooting at people. —Rafael Motamayor, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Afrikaans kommando, from Dutch commando command, from Spanish comando, from comandar to command, from Late Latin commandare

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

commando

noun

com·​man·​do kə-ˈman-dō 

plural commandos or commandoes

1

: a military unit trained and organized for surprise raids

2

: a member of a commando