# commissioner

Pronunciation: US say "kuh-MISH-uh-nur" /kəˈmɪʃənɚ/; UK say "kuh-MISH-uh-nuh" /kəˈmɪʃənə/

## Noun

1. An official who heads a government department, especially a police force.
   - Simple: A senior official who leads a government department, often a police force.
   - _The commissioner ordered a full review of the department's hiring practices._
   - _City leaders appointed a commissioner to oversee public transportation._
2. A person who serves as one of the members of an official commission.
   - Simple: A person who is part of a group set up to do an official job.
   - _The commissioner raised concerns about the proposed zoning changes._
   - _Several commissioners disagreed about how to spend the grant money._
3. A person who has been formally appointed to carry out particular duties.
   - Simple: A person who is given the official job of doing certain tasks.
   - _The court appointed a commissioner to gather evidence from the witnesses._
   - _Each commissioner was responsible for inspecting the bridges in one county._
4. A person who formally requests and pays for something to be created or carried out.
   - Simple: A person who orders and pays for a work to be made.
   - _Under the contract, copyright in the family portrait belonged to the commissioner, not the painter._
   - _The composer dedicated the string quartet to its commissioners, a couple who had paid for it as an anniversary gift._

## Origin

The word came through Middle English commissioner from Anglo-Norman commissionaire, itself from Medieval Latin commissiōnārius; it is related to "commission."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/commissioner (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).