as in commanders
one in official command especially of a military force or base
reported directly to the fort's commanding officer
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Recent Examples of commanding officers
Parker stars as one of Cameron’s commanding officers, drill sergeant Sullivan.
—
Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 28 Oct. 2025
Cameron also develops a close but complicated mentorship with one of his commanding officers, Sergeant Liam Robert Sullivan (Max Parker), a deputy drill instructor, who also hasn't revealed his sexuality.
—Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 2025
Quornelius Radford, had once been arrested by local authorities on suspicion of drunken driving — but his commanding officers had not known about that incident, officials said.
—Nbc News, NBC news, 6 Aug. 2025
Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 28 Oct. 2025
Cameron also develops a close but complicated mentorship with one of his commanding officers, Sergeant Liam Robert Sullivan (Max Parker), a deputy drill instructor, who also hasn't revealed his sexuality.
—Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 2025
Quornelius Radford, had once been arrested by local authorities on suspicion of drunken driving — but his commanding officers had not known about that incident, officials said.
—Nbc News, NBC news, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for commanding officers
commanders
Noun
-
In another, the embryo transfer had taken place in a bedroom, where she was surrounded by military commanders.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
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Treatment was largely ad hoc and depended to a considerable degree on individual commanders, but customarily prisoners would be exchanged or placed on parole—granted their freedom but required by oath not to return to military action.—
Drew Gilpin Faust,
The Atlantic,
8 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Commanding officers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commanding%20officers. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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