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Glite Dictionary
commander-in-chief

commander-in-chief

23 4.6
The senior military officer who leads a country's armed forces
  • noun
  • /kəˈmændər ɪn ˈtʃif/
  • Formal
: comandante en jefe
  • The new commander-in-chief promised to strengthen the country's defense forces.
  • commander-in-chief of the army
  • commander-in-chief of the military
  • president and commander-in-chief

And, you know, other things that were going on it it, they, he just lost his credibility as the president, as the commander in chief to the Joint Chiefs.

Examples

  • As your new commander-in-chief, I've authorized a complete military mobilization.

    Independence Daysaster (2013)

  • When the commander-in-chief states his concept, his forces will immediately implement the policy.

    Academic text (1996)

  • The son of the commander-in-chief of the whole post.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • I will be a Commander in Chief who will never mislead us into war.

  • I thought you were the commander-in-chief.

    Independence Daysaster (2013)

  • The military commander-in-chief does not serve in the cabinet.

    Academic text (2003)

  • For another thing, the president, as commander-in-chief, must use the U.S. military to enforce his directives, O'Brien says.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Admiral Ernest King, the Commander in Chief of the US Fleet, was planning a bold bombing raid against the heart of Japan, Tokyo itself.

  • In each report, the president has explicitly cited his "authority" attendant to his "constitutional obligation" as commander-in-chief.

    Academic text (1991)

  • The new commander-in-chief wasted no time deploying a coordinated assault involving army, navy and air force troops against the tiny, oil-producing nation of Zimbekistan.

    Eyeborgs (2009)

Synonyms

commander in chief
vscommander-in-chief
  • Formal
64 4.9

The person with highest authority over a country's armed forces

is the same meaning but written without hyphens as separate words
generalissimo
vscommander-in-chief
3 9.9

The top army leader in charge of many armies

limits command to a single country's armed forces or a particular force

How High-Ranking

commander-in-chief
  • Formal
23 4.6
general
636 4.2
colonel
208 7.7
captain
247 2.9
lieutenant
  • Specialized
614 5.8

Surface Forms

commander-in-chief singular
commanders-in-chief plural

Morphology

commander-in-chief = commander + chief (semi-transparent) = in + command + chief + er

The meaning is fairly guessable as the chief or highest commander, but the fixed expression 'in chief' is not a productive everyday pattern for most learners. [Postprocessing: moved 'in' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Commander-in-chief joins commander, from command meaning 'to give orders', and chief, meaning 'head' or 'leader', so it literally names the top person in charge of a country's armed forces.