Commission

//kəˈmɪʃən// noun, verb, slang

noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A sending or mission (to do or accomplish something). countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    A shirt or chemise. UK, obsolete, slang

    "As from our beds, we doe oft cast our eyes, / Cleane linnen yeelds a shirt before we rise, / Which is a garment shifting in condition; / And in the canting tongue is a commission."

  3. 3
    a special assignment that is given to a person or group wordnet
  4. 4
    An official charge or authority to do something, often used of military officers. countable, uncountable

    "David received his commission after graduating from West Point."

  5. 5
    the act of committing a crime wordnet
Show 11 more definitions
  1. 6
    The thing to be done as agent for another. countable, uncountable

    "I have three commissions for the city."

  2. 7
    the act of granting authority to undertake certain functions wordnet
  3. 8
    A body or group of people, officially tasked with carrying out a particular function. countable, uncountable

    "the European Commission"

  4. 9
    an official document issued by a government and conferring on the recipient the rank of an officer in the armed forces wordnet
  5. 10
    A fee charged by an agent or broker for carrying out a transaction. countable, uncountable

    "a reseller's commission"

  6. 11
    a formal statement of a command or injunction to do something wordnet
  7. 12
    The act of committing (e.g. a crime or error). countable, uncountable

    "the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism"

  8. 13
    a special group delegated to consider some matter wordnet
  9. 14
    a group of representatives or delegates wordnet
  10. 15
    a fee for services rendered based on a percentage of an amount received or collected or agreed to be paid (as distinguished from a salary) wordnet
  11. 16
    the state of being in good working order and ready for operation wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To send or officially charge someone or some group to do something. transitive

    "James Bond was commissioned with recovering the secret documents."

  2. 2
    charge with a task wordnet
  3. 3
    To place an order for (often a piece of art). transitive

    "He commissioned a replica of the Mona Lisa for his living room, but the painter gave up after six months."

  4. 4
    put into commission; equip for service; of ships wordnet
  5. 5
    To put (a ship or boat, etc.) into active service. transitive

    "The aircraft carrier was commissioned in 1944, during WWII."

Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    place an order for wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
committeeassignauthorizecommitteedeputationentrust

Example

More examples

"The commission concluded that the answer was no."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English commissioun, from Old French commission, from Latin commissiō (“sending together; commission”), from prefix com- (“with”) + noun of action missiō (“sending”), from perfect passive participle missus (“sent”), from the verb mittō (“to send”) + noun of action suffix -iō.

Etymology 2

Compare Italian camicia and Romanian cămeșă.

Related phrases

European CommissionGreat Commissioncommission agentcommission bidcommission breathcommission de bene essecommissioning editorhousing commissionliquor commissionout of commissionoverride one's commissionre-commission

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.