command Hear it!

command definition

com·mand (kə mand, -mänd)

transitive verb

  1. to give an order or orders to; direct with authority
  2. to have authority or jurisdiction over; control
  3. to have ready for use to command a large vocabulary
  4. to deserve and get; require as due, proper, or becoming to command respect
  5. to control or overlook from a higher position the fort commands the entire valley
  6. Obsolete to demand authoritatively

Etymology: ME commanden < OFr comander < VL *commandare < L com-, intens. + mandare, to commit, entrust: see mandate

intransitive verb

  1. to exercise power or authority; be in control; act as a commander
  2. to overlook, as from a height

noun

  1. the act of commanding
  2. an order; direction; mandate
  3. authority to command
  4. power to control or dominate by position
  5. range of view
  6. ability to have and use; mastery
    1. a military or naval force, organization, or district, under a specified authority or jurisdiction
    2. air command
  7. the post where the person in command is stationed
  8. Comput.
    1. a request entered on a terminal to have a particular function performed
    2. instruction (sense )

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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