Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - command

(commands, commanding, commanded) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If someone in authority commands you to do something, they tell you that you must do it. (mainly WRITTEN) He commanded his troops to attack... ‘Get in your car and follow me,’ he commanded... He commanded that roads be built to link castles across the land... ‘Don’t panic,’ I commanded myself. = instruct, order VERB: V n to-inf, V with quote, V that, V n with quote • Command is also a noun. The tanker failed to respond to a command to stop... ...the note of command in his voice. = instruction, order N-VAR 2. If you command something such as respect or obedience, you obtain it because you are popular, famous, or important. ...an excellent physician who commanded the respect of all his colleagues... VERB: no cont, V n 3. If an army or country commands a place, they have total control over it. Yemen commands the strait at the southern end of the Red Sea. = rule VERB: V n • Command is also a noun. ...the struggle for command of the air. N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n 4. An officer who commands part of an army, navy, or air force is responsible for controlling and organizing it. ...the French general who commands the UN troops in the region... He didn’t just command. He personally fought in several heavy battles. VERB: V n, V • Command is also a noun. In 1942 he took command of 108 Squadron. = charge N-UNCOUNT 5. In the armed forces, a command is a group of officers who are responsible for organizing and controlling part of an army, navy, or air force. He had authorisation from the military command to retaliate... N-COUNT-COLL: usu supp N 6. In computing, a command is an instruction that you give to a computer. N-COUNT 7. If someone has command of a situation, they have control of it because they have, or seem to have, power or authority. Mr Baker would take command of the campaign... In times of currency crisis interest rates can raised as a sign that a government is in command. N-UNCOUNT 8. Your command of something, such as a foreign language, is your knowledge of it and your ability to use this knowledge. His command of English was excellent. N-UNCOUNT: N of n 9. see also high command, second-in-command 10. If you have a particular skill or particular resources at your command, you have them and can use them fully. (FORMAL) The country should have the right to defend itself with all legal means at its command. PHRASE