1. officially take possession or control of (something), especially for military purposes: "telegraph and telephone lines were commandeered by the generals"
▪ take possession of (something) without authority: "he hoisted himself onto a table, commandeering it as a speaker's platform"
▪ enlist (someone) to help in a task, typically against the person's will:"he commandeered the men to find a table"
Word Originearly 19th century: from Afrikaans kommandeer, from Dutch commanderen, from French commander ‘to command’ (see command).
