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

Removing two of the four commissioners did away with the quorum that allows the E.E.O.C. to fulfill many of its functions. —E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 31 Jan. 2025

Some of the commissioners questioned where the money would come from for the replacement. —Nick Rosenberger, Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2025

Earlier this month, Cordero-Stutz asked commissioners for an additional $50 million over what was approved in the $12.7 billion countywide budget the board approved in September. —Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2025

While commissioners voted to approve the priorities, commission chair Wayne Justice wanted to gauge how political headbutting that became apparent during a special session called by DeSantis this week would affect the port. —Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 31 Jan. 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

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