commissioner

noun
com·​mis·​sion·​er | \ kə-ˈmi-sh(ə-)nər How to pronounce commissioner (audio) \

Definition of commissioner

: 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

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Other Words from commissioner

commissionership \ kə-​ˈmi-​sh(ə-​)nər-​ˌship How to pronounce commissionership (audio) \ noun

Examples of commissioner in a Sentence

The baseball commissioner decided to suspend the players for 10 games.

Recent Examples on the Web

Town hall meetings provide a great opportunity for commissioners to brief citizens and for citizens to ask questions and share concerns, thoughts, and ideas. Mary Grace Keller, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, "Carroll commissioner Rothstein to hold town hall meetings Aug. 27," 24 Aug. 2019 The administration announced the move in a memo earlier this week from budget director Susie Park to all city commissioners and department heads. chicagotribune.com, "Read the Lightfoot administration’s memo announcing a hiring freeze across city government," 23 Aug. 2019 The activists frequently show up at City Council meetings and shout at the mayor and commissioners. The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive.com, "Activist who smeared his own blood on wall of Portland City Hall gets 2 years of probation," 23 Aug. 2019 Andrew Redington/Getty Images ATLANTA — With the PGA Tour’s top players making piles of money, its commissioner was grappling with how to keep his stars interested and invested in competitive golf after the conclusion of the majors season. Karen Crouse, New York Times, "Are the FedEx Cup Playoffs Rewarding the Wrong Players?," 22 Aug. 2019 The political dominos continued with Democratic candidates lining up to run for attorney general and lands commissioner if Ferguson and Franz end up not seeking reelection to their posts. Fortune, "After Dropping Presidential Bid, Jay Inslee Expected to Seek Third Term as Governor," 22 Aug. 2019 John Labeta, the section’s assistant commissioner, is the man in charge of checking out transfer eligibility. John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Football transfers still topic of debate," 22 Aug. 2019 The political dominos continued with Democratic candidates lining up to run for attorney general and lands commissioner if Ferguson and Franz end up not seeking reelection to their posts. CBS News, "Inslee announces re-election for Washington governor after ending White House bid," 22 Aug. 2019 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who knows a thing about the highest tiers of the postseason, was in attendance to help kick off the Fiserv Forum era, as was NBA commissioner Adam Silver. Jr Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "The Milwaukee Bucks' Fiserv Forum had a blockbuster first year. Here are the 14 top events from Year 1.," 21 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'commissioner.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of commissioner

15th century, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for commissioner

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

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More Definitions for commissioner

commissioner

noun

English Language Learners Definition of commissioner

: a member of a commission : one of a group of people who have been given the official job of finding information about something or controlling something
: an official who is in charge of a government department or part of a government department
US : an official who is in charge of a major professional sport (such as baseball, football, or hockey)

commissioner

noun
com·​mis·​sion·​er | \ kə-ˈmi-shə-nər How to pronounce commissioner (audio) , -ˈmish-nər\

Kids Definition of commissioner

1 : a member of a commission
2 : an official who is the head of a government department

commissioner

noun
com·​mis·​sion·​er

Legal Definition of commissioner

: 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

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