commissioner
/kəˈmɪʃ(ə)nə
/noun
1A person appointed to a role on or by a commission.The traffic commissioner's office, once located in Talbot Road, Old Trafford, was moved to Yorkshire in 1997....
- I will be most interested to see what role the commissioners will be carrying out.
- The commissioner's role will be to receive and process complaints about judges, to identify those requiring a full investigation because they raise a question of removal of a judge.
1.1A representative of the supreme authority in an area.The high court has ordered that deputy commissioners and local authorities should not permit land conversion and construction without sanction of the metropolitan planning authorities....
- The commissioners were official representatives who were supposed to explain why their state had seceded and encourage similar action from their audiences.
- He added that matter would be further discussed at the next joint meeting of the township commissioners and sewage authority at 4 p.m.
1.2The head of the Metropolitan Police in London.The commissioner of London's Metropolitan police force says more than 30 per cent of robberies and muggings involve mobile phones....
- But since his wife, Desdemona, confesses straight away to the Metropolitan commissioner of police that she murdered her husband, there is not much in the way of narrative suspense.
- Britain's top policeman, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, has warned an attack in London is both imminent and inevitable.
1.3North American A person appointed to regulate a particular sport: a baseball commissioner...
- He contends that in a misguided effort to promote baseball, the commissioner and owners have bent their sport out of shape.
- Then, on his way to his office at Milwaukee's County Stadium, the baseball commissioner stopped to do a family errand.
- Compared with commissioners in other pro sports who are hired by team owners, he has considerably more power in regard to competition.
Origin
Late Middle English: from medieval Latin commissionarius, from Latin commissio (see commission).