COMMANDING OFFICER Synonyms: 6 Similar Words

commanding officer

noun

as in commander

one in official command especially of a military force or base reported directly to the fort's commanding officer

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of commanding officer The incident occurred while Scheublin had authority over his victim as the commanding officer at the 46th Precinct, prosecutors said, outlining the encounter in detail. — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 10 July 2026 Gabriel Edwards, the commanding officer of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5, was reported missing after the July 1 incident. — Christopher Cann, USA Today, 8 July 2026 Soldiers submitted ballots to be counted and recorded by commanding officers, and their votes played an important role in the reelection of Abraham Lincoln. — Jamie Rowen, The Conversation, 2 July 2026 Another probe involves James McCarthy, the current assistant chief and commanding officer of the Manhattan South precinct, and former Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Tarik Sheppard, who retired last year. — Anna Schecter, CBS News, 24 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for commanding officer

Recent Examples of Synonyms for commanding officer

Noun

His name is Ernst Kaltenbrunner, an SS general who two weeks earlier was named commander-in-chief of all German forces in southern Europe.

— Danielle Parker, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026
When the ethnic war in Bosnia started in 1992, Mladic became the commander of the Bosnian Serb troops and took control of large swaths of the country to form a Serb mini-state.

— Jovana Gec, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of commander

Noun

Bou Meng, along with two other survivors, artist Vann Nath and mechanic Chum Mey, testified in 2009 at the trial of Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, who had been the S-21 commandant.

— ABC News, ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026
Trump fired the woman commandant of the Coast Guard, the Black combat-veteran Air Force general who was the chair of the Joint Chiefs, and the first woman to be the chief of naval operations.

— David Remnick, New Yorker, 17 June 2026

Definition of commandant

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commanding

commanding officer

commanding officers

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“Commanding officer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commanding%20officer. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of commanding officer

noun

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