Webster's English Dictionary

Enter the word to look up:

command

Cross references:
  1. power                 
 
1. com.mand \k*-'mand\ vb [ME comanden, fr. OF comander, fr. (assumed) VL 
   commandare, a]lter. of L commendare to commit to one's charge - more at 
   COMMEND 1: to direct authoritatively : ORDER  2: to exercise a dominating 
   influence over : as  2a: to have at one's immediate disposal  2b: to demand 
   as one's due : EXACT {~s a high fee}  2c: to overlook or dominate from a 
   strategic position  2d: to have military or naval command of as senior 
   officer  obs  2: to order or request to be given  1: to have or to exercise 
   direct authority : GOVERN  2: to give orders  3: to be commander  4: to 
   dominate from an elevated positionMINSTRUCT, CHARGE mean to issue orders. 
   COMMAND and ORDER imply authority and usu. some degree of formality and 
   impersonality; COMMAND stresses official exercise of authority, ORDER may 
   suggest peremptory or arbitrary exercise; BID suggests giving orders 
   peremptorily as to children or servants; ENJOIN implies giving an order or 
   direction authoritatively and urgently and often with admonition or 
   solicitude; DIRECT and INSTRUCT both connote expectation of obedience and 
   usu. concern specific points of procedure or method, INSTRUCT sometimes 
   implying greater explicitness or formality; CHARGE adds to ENJOIN an 
   implication of imposing as a duty or responsibility SYN syn COMMAND, ORDER, 
   BID, ENJOIN, DIRECT, ( 
2. command n 1: the act of commanding  2: an order given  3a: the ability 
   to control : MASTERY  3b: the authority or right to command  3c1: the power 
   to dominate  3c2: scope of vision  3d: facility in use  4: the personnel, 
   area, or organization under a commander  5: a position of highest authority 
3. command aj : done on command or request