COMMANDING OFFICER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does commanding officer mean? 

• COMMANDING OFFICER (noun)
  The noun COMMANDING OFFICER has 1 sense:

1. an officer in command of a military unit

  Familiarity information: COMMANDING OFFICER used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• COMMANDING OFFICER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An officer in command of a military unit

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

commandant; commander; commanding officer

Hypernyms ("commanding officer" is a kind of...):

military officer; officer (any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command)

Domain category:

armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "commanding officer"):

SACLANT; Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (commanding officer of ACLANT; a general of the United States Army nominated by the President of the United States and approved by the North Atlantic Council)

SACEUR; Supreme Allied Commander Europe (commanding officer of ACE; NATO's senior military commander in Europe)

commander-in-chief; commander in chief; generalissimo (the officer who holds the supreme command)

wing commander ((RAF rank) one who is next below a group captain)

 Context examples 

I returned my thanks, by the interpreter, for so unusual a favour; and some troops being at that time on their march to Nangasac, the commanding officer had orders to convey me safe thither, with particular instructions about the business of the crucifix.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)