commands

Noun

command (countable and uncountable, plural commands)

1. An order to do something.
   • I was given a command to cease shooting.

   Synonyms:

   behest, injunction

2. The right or authority to order, control or dispose of; the right to be obeyed or to compel obedience.
   • to have command of an army
3. power of control, direction or disposal; mastery.
   • he had command of the situation
4. A position of chief authority; a position involving the right or power to order or control.
   • General Smith was placed in command.
5. The act of commanding; exercise or authority of influence.
   • Command cannot be otherwise than savage, for it implies an appeal to force, should force be needful.1851, Herbert Spencer, Social Statics, page 180
6. A body or troops, or any naval or military force, under the control of a particular officer; by extension, any object or body in someone's charge.
   • I asked myself what I was to do there, now my boat was lost. As a matter of fact, I had plenty to do in fishing my command out of the river.1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I

See all 18 meanings of command