commandeer

/kɒmənˈdɪə(ɹ)/

//kɒmənˈdɪə(ɹ)// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"commandeer" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“commandeer” is uncommon English (frequency #71,411 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#71,411
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To seize for military use.

Corpus desk

Index EN-commandeer · commandeer · English

commandeer · rank #71,411 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #71,411
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH compensator

Nearest frequency peer: compensator (+2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “commandeer”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “commandeer” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for commandeer
PropertyValue
Headwordcommandeer
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/kɒmənˈdɪə(ɹ)/
Letters10
Frequency rank#71,411
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “commandeer” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).commandeerfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “compensator” (#71,413), “comtesse” (#71,414), “conceives” (#71,415). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “commandeer” is #71,411. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

commandeer is uncommon English at frequency #71,411 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /kɒmənˈdɪə(ɹ)/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

commandeer doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Late 19th century. From Dutch commanderen (“to command”), partially through its descendant, Afrikaans kommandeer (“to command”). Ultimately from French commander, from Old French comander, from Latin commendare. Doublet of command. The correct English form is commandeer, spelled C-O-M-M-A-N-D-E-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To seize for military use.
  2. 2
    To force into military service.
  3. 3
    To take arbitrarily or by force.
  4. 4
    To take or use for some purpose (not necessarily arbitrarily or by force).

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how commandeer appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. "We're stuck taking the bus to school tomorrow, aren't we?" "...Yeah. Moperville South doesn't give bus service out here, so Ellen's commandeering my car."

Etymology

Late 19th century. From Dutch commanderen (“to command”), partially through its descendant, Afrikaans kommandeer (“to command”). Ultimately from French commander, from Old French comander, from Latin commendare. Doublet of command.

This word in other languages

requisar(Español)réquisitionner(Français)requirieren(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "commandeer"?
"commandeer" is spelled C-O-M-M-A-N-D-E-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /kɒmənˈdɪə(ɹ)/.
What does "commandeer" mean?
As a verb, "commandeer" means: To seize for military use.
How do you pronounce "commandeer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "commandeer" is /kɒmənˈdɪə(ɹ)/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "commandeer"?
Late 19th century. From Dutch commanderen (“to command”), partially through its descendant, Afrikaans kommandeer (“to command”). Ultimately from French commander, from Old French comander, from Latin commendare. Doublet of command. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "commandeer", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Chippenham#71,398cardholder#71,378didgeridoo#71,447brickworks#71,356

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list