Definition of "commandeer" [com•man•deer]

• To force into military service. (verb-transitive)
• To seize for military use; confiscate. (verb-transitive)
• To take arbitrarily or by force. See Synonyms at appropriate. (verb-transitive)

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 February, the Achenbaums sued Credit Suisse's Column Financial unit for wrongful termination in Miami-Dade County circuit court, alleging among other things that Column took steps to "commandeer" the hotel, replacing them with a hotel operator whose inexperience will "inevitably result in inferior services.""
• "But neither can the federal government force California to keep similar drug laws on its own books, nor to "commandeer" state agencies to enforce federal drug laws."
• "So, can local governments "commandeer" the time of private citizens for jury duty?"