chief

[ cheef ]

noun

1. the head or leader of an organized body of people; the person highest in authority:

   the chief of police.

2. the head or ruler of a tribe or clan:

   an Indian chief.

3. Chief, U.S. Army. a title of some advisers to the Chief of Staff, who do not, in most instances, command the troop units of their arms or services:

   Chief of Engineers;

   Chief Signal Officer.

4. Informal: Sometimes Offensive. boss or leader:

   We'll have to talk to the chief about this.

5. Heraldry.
   1. the upper area of an escutcheon.
   2. an ordinary occupying this area.

adjective

1. highest in rank or authority:

   the chief priest;

   the chief administrator.

   Antonyms: subordinate

2. most important; principal:

   his chief merit;

   the chief difficulty.

   Synonyms: paramount, prime, leading, foremost, cardinal

adverb

1. Archaic. chiefly; principally.

chief

/ tʃiːf /

noun

1. the head, leader, or most important individual in a group or body of people
2. another word for chieftain
3. heraldry the upper third of a shield
4. in chief
   primarily; especially

adjective

1. prenominal
   1. most important; principal
   2. highest in rank or authority

adverb

1. archaic.
   principally

Sensitive Note

See powwow.

Other Words From

• chief·less adjective
• chief·ship noun
• sub·chief noun
• un·der·chief noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of chief¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French chief, chef, Old French chef, from unattested Vulgar Latin capum, re-formation of Latin caput head

Word History and Origins

Origin of chief¹

C13: from Old French, from Latin caput head

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in chief,
   1. in the chief position; highest in rank (used in combination):

      editor in chief; commander in chief.

   2. Heraldry. in the upper part of an escutcheon.

Synonym Study

See capital ¹.

Example Sentences

Gary Wang, co-founder and chief technology officer of FTX, was sentenced to no time in prison on Wednesday, two years after the cryptocurrency firm collapsed and faced accusations of defrauding customers.

From Salon

Thames Water chief executive Chris Weston previously warned that the company only has enough cash to survive till next May but many think it will run out of money by Christmas.

From BBC

Trump has also appointed his good pal and transition chief Howard Lutnick to head the Commerce Department.

From Salon

In June, Nick Adderly, the chief constable of Northamptonshire Police was sacked for exaggerating his naval rank and length of service.

From BBC

But according to Vicky Read, chief executive of charging firm Charge UK a weakening of the mandate would be the wrong move.

From BBC

Related Words

• captain
• commander
• director
• head
• leader
• manager
• ruler
• superintendent
• supervisor