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

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

Then, when the real D-Day began, those troops would be pinned down by Allied bomber missions and further drops of British and Canadian commandos. — Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026

That support included participating in the scheme; fundraising, mostly from recipients of pandemic-era government loans; arranging travel to Haiti and lodging for Sanon, Intriago and Solages and two dozen Colombian commandos. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 28 Sep. 2026

Either way, The Ministry is a perfectly decent action movie based on the real-life tale of a group of World War II commandos on a covert submarine-sabotage mission. — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 25 Sep. 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