Meaning & use
commission
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
A fee paid to someone for services, usually a percentage of a sale.
Grammar: Can be countable (a commission) or uncountable (on commission).
Patterns
- earn a commission
- on commission
- a 10% commission
The real estate agent earns a 5% commission on each house sale.
He works on commission, so his income varies.
She received a commission for finding the new client.
nouncountable
An official request to create a piece of art, music, or writing.
Grammar: Countable noun; often used with 'for' or 'to'.
Patterns
- a commission for something
- receive a commission
- accept a commission
The artist received a commission to paint a portrait of the mayor.
The composer accepted a commission for a new symphony.
The museum gave the sculptor a commission for a public statue.
nouncountable
A group of people officially appointed to investigate or oversee something.
Grammar: Countable noun; often used with 'on' or 'into'.
Patterns
- a commission on something
- set up a commission
- the ethics commission
The government set up a commission to investigate the scandal.
The ethics commission reviews complaints against officials.
A commission on climate change will report next year.
verbtransitive
To formally ask someone to produce a piece of work.
Grammar: Takes an object: commission an artist. Often used in passive: be commissioned to do something.
Patterns
- commission someone to do something
- commission a work
- be commissioned to do something
The city commissioned a local artist to create a mural.
She was commissioned to write a new play for the festival.
They commissioned a survey to assess customer satisfaction.
Word forms
| plural | commissions |
|---|---|
| third person singular | commissions |
| past tense | commissioned |
| past participle | commissioned |
| -ing form | commissioning |
Common combinations
- earn a commission
- Salespeople earn a commission on every product they sell.
- on commission
- He works on commission, so he only gets paid when he sells.
- set up a commission
- The president set up a commission to study the issue.
- commission an artist
- They commissioned an artist to paint a family portrait.
- commission a report
- The board commissioned a report on the company's finances.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fee
- A fixed payment for a service; 'commission' is usually a percentage of a sale, while 'fee' is a set amount.
- percentage
- A share of an amount; 'commission' is a specific type of percentage paid for a service.
- committee
- A group appointed to do a job; 'commission' often implies a formal investigation or oversight role.
- order
- A request for something to be made; 'commission' is more formal and often used for art or official assignments.
Word family
- commissioner noun
- An official in charge of a department or organization.
- commissioned adjective
- Having been formally requested or appointed, as in 'a commissioned officer'.
- commissioning noun
- The act of formally requesting or appointing someone.
Commonly confused: commission or commision? commission or committee?
commission vs commision
A common misspelling; the correct spelling has double 's' and ends in '-ion': commission.
commission vs committee
A group of people appointed for a specific function; 'commission' is similar but often implies a more formal or investigative role.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
The standard phrase is 'earn a commission on' something. 'Commission' can be uncountable, but with 'every sale' the countable form with 'a' is more natural. 'For' is less common than 'on' in this context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “commission”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.