commandeer Hear it!

commandeer Definition

com·man·deer (käm′ən dir′)

transitive verb

  1. to force into military service
  2. to seize (property) for military or government use
  3. Informal to take forcibly

Etymology: Du kommandeeren, to command, (esp. Afrik) to commandeer < OFr comander, command

commandeer Synonyms

commandeer

v.

  1. To force into military service

    draft, conscript, activate; see enlist 1, enslave, recruit 1.

  2. To seize for public use

    appropriate, sequester, confiscate; see seize 2.

commandeer Usage Examples

Object

  • PC: The security company also said there was a risk that an intruder could commandeer a PC.
  • vessel: Tomlinson, however, is not commandeering this vessel on Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service.
  • ship: At Sumburgh Bothwell commandeered two ships from German merchants.
  • boat: Our rescue squad commandeers a boat and heads to Africa in search of Ryan.
  • vehicle: He's commandeered a military vehicle that's believed to be armed.
  • bus: Officers initially commandeered a double decker bus to ferry them to police stations.

Subject

  • army: I was sent by ambulance to Park Hospital at Urmston Manchester where a wing had been commandeered by the army.
  • force: During the early part of the 1939 war, the sawmill was commandeered by the armed forces to supply them with timber.
  • navy: The Thistlegorm - The Thistlegorm was a 126 meter long and 17.5 meter wide merchant vessel commandeered by the navy during World War II.

Modifying Another Word

  • then: Humberside Police then commandeered busses to take the Swans fans to Hull.
  • also: The military also commandeered five acres of woodland, opposite the Bakery, belonging to Newchapel House.
  • even: One, a former Air Vise Marshal, even commandeered a helicopter.
  • already: The artificers had already commandeered the upper part of the House for new sleeping quarters, away from the relative insecurity of the Beacon-house.
  • successfully: Autonomous Cafe has successfully commandeered EDB Cafe of the University of Sussex on the 31/01/06.
  • now: Simon Clark: I write at home in what was once the dining room and which I have now commandeered as my office.

Infinitive complement

take: People were using shelving and doors as stretchers, and a bus was commandeered to take away the walking wounded.

Preposition: for

purpose: The personnel were accommodated in nearby houses which had, presumably been commandeered for the purpose.

Preposition: by

  • navy: The Thistlegorm - The Thistlegorm was a 126 meter long and 17.5 meter wide merchant vessel commandeered by the navy during World War II.
  • army: I was sent by ambulance to Park Hospital at Urmston Manchester where a wing had been commandeered by the army.
  • force: During the early part of the 1939 war, the sawmill was commandeered by the armed forces to supply them with timber.