commando

noun

com·​man·​do kə-ˈman-(ˌ)dō 

plural commandos or commandoes

1

South Africa

a

: a military unit or command of the Boers

b

: a raiding expedition

2

a

: a military unit trained and organized as shock troops especially for hit-and-run raids into enemy territory

b

: a member of such a unit

see also:

go commando

Examples of commando in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The two businesses, collectively known as CTU, recruited the Colombian commandos who were supposed guarding Sanon in Haiti but later stormed Moïse’s hillside residence above Port-au-Prince in the middle of the night. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026

British commandos were spotted on a submarine while carrying out a daring operation. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 7 Oct. 2026

In the hours leading up to the attack, Israeli intelligence agencies saw some Hamas leaders go underground and Hamas commandos gathering at different spots. — Dov Lieber, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026

In reality, the story is about Alejandro (del Toro), and that becomes clear once the commandos enter the tunnel system at the end of the movie. — David Hookstead Outkick, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Afrikaans kommando, from Dutch commando command, from Spanish comando, from comandar to command, from Late Latin commandare

First Known Use

1791, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing commando

• go commando

Rhymes for commando

• afterglow
• akimbo
• albino
• aliquot
• allegro
• amigo
• apropos
• audio
• bungalow
• calico
• calypso
• cameo

Kids Definition

commando

noun

com·​man·​do kə-ˈman-dō 

plural commandos or commandoes

1

: a military unit trained and organized for surprise raids

2

: a member of a commando