commander: Meaning and Definition of

com•mand•er

Pronunciation: (ku-man'dur, -män'-), [key]
— n.
  1. a person who commands.
  2. a person who exercises authority; chief officer; leader.
  3. the commissioned officer in command of a military unit.
  4. an officer ranking below a captain and above a lieutenant commander.
  5. a police officer in charge of a precinct or other unit.
  6. the chief officer of a commandery in the medieval orders of Knights Hospitalers, Knights Templars, and others.
  7. a member of one of the higher classes or ranks in certain modern fraternal orders, as in the Knights Templars.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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