From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcommander in chiefcomˌmander in ˈchief noun (plural commanders in chief) [countable usually singular] PMsomeone of high rank who is in control of all the military organizations in a country or of a specific military activity The king or queen is commander in chief of the British armed forces.
Examples from the Corpus
commander in chief• They also may target his qualifications as commander in chief and past opposition to balanced-budget amendments and Social Security reform ideas.• Soon after the coup, Reza Khan became minister of war and defacto commander in chief of the armed forces.• Lahoud, formerly commander in chief of the army, uses officers he has appointed to key posts as his power base.• The first duty of a soldier is to obey her commander in chief.• Her commander in chief is the greatest and most powerful man in the world.• Today he is commander in chief of the Khmer Rouge guerrilla army.• The move was initiated by 12 active generals, including the army's commander in chief, General Ricardo Brinzoni.• He had to do something for the commander in chief. 