Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Commander \Com*mand"er\, n. [Cf. F. commandeur. Cf. {Commodore},
{Commender}.]
1. A chief; one who has supreme authority; a leader; the
chief officer of an army, or of any division of it.
A leader and commander to the people. --Is. lv. 4.
2. (Navy) An officer who ranks next below a captain, --
ranking with a lieutenant colonel in the army.
3. The chief officer of a commandery.
4. A heavy beetle or wooden mallet, used in paving, in sail
lofts, etc.
{Commander in chief}, the military title of the officer who
has supreme command of the land or naval forces or the
united forces of a nation or state; a generalissimo. The
President is commander in chief of the army and navy of
the United States.
Syn: See {Chief}.
Source : WordNet®
commander in chief
n : the officer who holds the supreme command; "in the U.S. the
president is the commander in chief" [syn: {generalissimo}]