the officer holding supreme command of the forces in an area or operation
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
comˈmand•er in ˈchief,
n. [countable], pl. commanders in chief.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- MilitaryAlso, Comˈmand•er in ˈChief. the supreme commander of the armed forces of a nation.
- Militaryan officer in command of a particular portion of an armed force.
command′er in chief′, pl. commanders in chief.
- MilitaryAlso, Command′er in Chief′. the supreme commander of the armed forces of a nation or, sometimes, of several allied nations:The president is the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force.
- Militaryan officer in command of a particular portion of an armed force who has been given this title by specific authorization.
- 1635–45
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'commander in chief' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Barclay de Tolly
- C in C
- C. in C.
- C.I.C.
- Chu Teh
- Clinton
- Com. in Chf.
- Dowding
- Dönitz
- Fairfax
- Foch
- Gage
- Gómez
- Haig
- Harris
- Howe
- Lee
- MacArthur
- Nimitz
- Pershing
- Roberts
- Schwarzkopf
- Washington
- Wavell
- Weygand
- York
- Ypsilanti
- admiral
- chief
- emperor
- order of the day
- sirdar