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

Ben Collins, a former NBC News journalist who is chief executive of The Onion’s parent company, said on X: “We're planning on making a very stupid website.”

From BBC

Trump has named Taylor Budowich as a deputy chief of staff in charge of communications and personnel.

From Salon

“When you have constant new content coming, it really does help them reduce churn,” said Jeffrey Wlodarczak, chief executive of Pivotal Research Group.

From Los Angeles Times

The quote led to a rare public rebuke of a political candidate by a police chief and calls for Jurado to quit the race or apologize.

From Los Angeles Times

The relationship between the chief executive and his chairman is noteworthy in that they are, in effect, splitting LA28’s principal workload.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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