commissary
Americannoun
plural
commissaries-
a store that sells food and supplies to the personnel or workers in a military post, mining camp, lumber camp, or the like.
-
a dining room or cafeteria, especially one in a motion-picture studio.
-
a person to whom some responsibility or role is delegated by a superior power; a deputy.
-
(in France) a police official, usually just below the police chief in rank.
noun
-
a shop supplying food or equipment, as in a military camp
-
army an officer responsible for supplies and food
-
a snack bar or restaurant in a film studio
-
a representative or deputy, esp an official representative of a bishop
Other Word Forms
- commissarial adjective
- commissaryship noun
- subcommissarial adjective
- subcommissary noun
Etymology
Origin of commissary
1350–1400; Middle English commissarie (< Anglo-French ) < Medieval Latin commissārius, equivalent to Latin commiss ( us ) (past participle of committere to commit ) + -ārius -ary
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The state-of-the-art complex has five sound stages, offices and other proper movie studio features such as a mill, commissary and base camp.
From Los Angeles Times
Public grocery stores already exist in the form of commissaries on military bases.
From MarketWatch
“Cash for the commissary, are you mad? I asked for rolls and coffee, not a jewel-encrusted egg! Don’t you know who we are? We are the Babushkinovs! Our name is all the credit we need!”
From Literature
![]()
Their extra room became the commissary, to use an old Hollywood term.
From Los Angeles Times
The “kitty” is then resold, creating a secondary market within the jails that is cheaper than the commissary.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.