1.
[syn: commando, ranger]
2. an amphibious military unit trained for raids into enemy territory;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Commando \Com*man"do\, n. [D. See Command, v. t.]
1. In South Africa, a military body or command; also,
sometimes, an expedition or raid; as, a commando of a
hundred Boers.
The war bands, called commandos, have played a great
part in the . . . military history of the country.
--James Bryce.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
2. 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.
[PJC]
3. a member of a commando[2] unit.
[PJC]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
commando
n 1: a member of a military unit trained as shock troops for
hit-and-run raids [syn: commando, ranger]
2: an amphibious military unit trained for raids into enemy
territory