commandeer
verb
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Military forces have always had the power to commandeer houses. The Declaration of Independence complains about the way the British soldiers have done it, and the third Amendment to the Constitution states that the commandeering of people's houses shall be done only in a way prescribed by law. Almost anything—food, supplies, livestock, etc.—can be militarily commandeered when the need arises. But you don't have to be in the military for someone to "pull rank" on you: Your father may commandeer the car just when you were about to take it out for the evening, your teacher may commandeer your cell phone as you're texting in the middle of class, or your older sister may commandeer the TV remote to watch some lousy dancing competition.
Examples of commandeer in a Sentence
CBS News, 4 May 2024
Editors’ Picks And some on campus have come to question whether student demonstrators are also trying to evade consequences for flouting rules, commandeering academic buildings and repeatedly using protest chants that some of their Jewish peers have described as painful and threatening.
—Nicholas Fandos, New York Times, 2 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for commandeer 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'commandeer.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Commandeer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commandeer. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
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commandeer
verb
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