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command

From Wiktionary

Pronunciation

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Noun

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Singular
command

Plural
commands

  1. (uncountable) Command, is the power to control people or things.
    The information moved from the soldiers up the chain of command right to the president.
    Machine-gun fire swept through the general's command post.
    With their centralized command structure, it's hard to believe that it could be an accidental action.
    We'll look at the problems they face and the military options at their command.
    These women reject the idea that they are under their husband's command.
    We have not leader. Somebody needs to take command and get us moving.
    Saddam Hussein was in command of one of the world's biggest military machines.
  2. (countable & uncountable) Command is the people or place that orders come from.
    This operation was planned carefully from the central command.
    Reporters recently spoke to leaders at the Army's Strategic Defense Command.
  3. (countable) A command is a direction for a computer to do something.
    A complicated command like "COPY: *. *B:PRNT1 i" could take some time for the computer to complete.
  4. (countable) A command is an order that somebody do something or that something happen.
    He gave the command to attack.
  5. (countable & uncountable) If you have command of something, you understand it well.
    He has an excellent command of both French and Spanish.

Verb

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Plain form
command

Third-person singular
commands

Past tense
commanded

Past participle
commanded

Present participle
commanding

  1. (transitive) If you command someone to do something, you tell them to do it because you have power over them.
    He'd first joined the Army in 1969 and commanded a unit in Vietnam.
    "That's quite enough of that. Stop it right now," commanded his teacher.
  2. (transitive) If you command attention, respect, etc., you get it because you should get it.
    The amazing power of weather commands respect and fear.
    Her fire-red hair commanded attention.
    The wines from 1989 from that area today command high prices.
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