Definition of "commission" []

• The act of granting certain powers or the authority to carry out a particular task or duty. (noun)
• The authority so granted. (noun)
• The matter or task so authorized: Investigation of fraud was their commission. (noun)
• A document conferring such authorization. (noun)
• A group of people officially authorized to perform certain duties or functions: The Federal Trade Commission investigates false advertising. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In numerous letters to various editors after September 11, he protested that he had never meant to endorse “terrorism,” which he defined as the commission of “random acts of terror against people.”"
• "To a company, a commission is a bit like a tax in that their expense goes up when sales go up & often commission rates increase for heavier sales."
• "That quote made me wonder if the commission is authorized to smack people."