Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A small fighting force specially trained for making quick destructive raids against enemy-held areas.
- noun A member of such a force.
- noun An organized force of Boer troops in South Africa.
- noun A raid made by such a force.
- idiom (go commando) To wear clothing without wearing undergarments, especially underpants.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The enrolled militia of an electoral district in the late Dutch republics of South Africa.
- noun A unit of the Boer army commanded by an officer whose title was Commandant.
- noun A military expedition or raid undertaken by private individuals for personal ends; more specifically, the name given to the quasimilitary expeditions undertaken by the Boers and English farmers of South Africa against the natives.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun In South Africa, a military body or command; also, sometimes, an expedition or raid.
- noun a usually small military unit trained to perform special missions, often behind enemy lines, and usually employing hit-and-run tactics. Such units often have the destruction of fixed targets, such as enemy installations, as their mission, in contrast to normal combat units which engage the enemy army directly.
- noun a member of a commando{2} unit.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A small
fighting force specially trained for makingquick destructive raids againstenemy -held areas - noun A commando
trooper - noun historical An organized force of
Boer troops inSouth Africa ; araid by such troops
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an amphibious military unit trained for raids into enemy territory
- noun a member of a military unit trained as shock troops for hit-and-run raids
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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I suspect the military commando is a tough guy that talks in a tough voice and prepares the troop for the worst missing of their lives.
Days like these let you savor a bad mood pabba 2010
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Sidiqi is said to have told his interrogators that members of the group were planning to participate in commando-style attacks on major landmarks in Berlin and other European cities.
Germany's terror mosque Jackson Diehl 2010
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Once that is complete, a commando from the Chilean navy will be lowered into the mine to evaluate the miners 'health and divide them into three groups: the able, the weak, the most able.
Chile miners' rescue is imminent, say experts Copiapo Jonathan Franklin at the San José mine 2010
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I suspect the military commando is a tough guy that talks in a tough voice and prepares the troop for the worst missing of their lives.
Avatar, shmavatar pabba 2010
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The great Great White Snark recently posted a penguin commando Batman Returns tattoo submitted by a reader.
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In fact, the father of brainstorming, advertising executive Alex Osborn, advocated using people to storm a corporate problem "in commando fashion."
Boing Boing 2006
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"The goal is to identify and isolate three dozens and perhaps more such targets that could be destroyed by precision strikes and short-term commando raids."
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Dressed in commando fatigues, Madonna throws grenades as the techno terror beat pounds, claims a source.
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* A "commando" - style knife with an integrated compass and thermometer
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May creep or "commando" - crawl a few feet when on tummy.
muskox commented on the word commando
1. Not wearing underpants.
2. A state of vestment that leaves certain extremeties exposed or unclothed (used as a modifier), as in:
"It's not so cold and windy today, so I'll forgo the balaclava and go face commando."
"Wading across this icy river makes me wish I hadn't decided to go foot commando."
Note that usage (1) is a special case of usage (2), with underpants the inferred item of missing clothing.
December 19, 2006