commander: Meaning and Definition of

com•mand•er

1. a person who commands.
2. a person who exercises authority; chief officer; leader.
3. the commissioned officer in command of a military unit.
4. an officer ranking below a captain and above a lieutenant commander.
5. a police officer in charge of a precinct or other unit.
6. the chief officer of a commandery in the medieval orders of Knights Hospitalers, Knights Templars, and others.
7. a member of one of the higher classes or ranks in certain modern fraternal orders, as in the Knights Templars.