chief
the head or leader of an organized body of people; the person highest in authority: the chief of police.
the head or ruler of a tribe or clan: an Indian chief.
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.
Informal: Sometimes Offensive. boss or leader: We'll have to talk to the chief about this.
Heraldry.
the upper area of an escutcheon.
an ordinary occupying this area.
highest in rank or authority: the chief priest;the chief administrator.
most important; principal: his chief merit;the chief difficulty.
Archaic. chiefly; principally.
Idioms about chief
in chief,
in the chief position; highest in rank (used in combination): editor in chief; commander in chief.
Heraldry. in the upper part of an escutcheon.
Origin of chief
1synonym study For chief
usage note For chief
Other words for chief
Opposites for chief
Other words from chief
- chief·less, adjective
- chief·ship, noun
- sub·chief, noun
- un·der·chief, noun
Words that may be confused with chief
- chef, chief
Words Nearby chief
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use chief in a sentence
“Having been a legislator and a mayor, I particularly enjoy being a chief executive,” he said.
The Golden State Preps for the ‘Red Wedding’ of Senate Races | David Freedlander | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThis is a blow against freedom of speech, we were told, by the likes of Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson.
Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead | Luke O’Neil | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST“You can imagine the sound of that gun on a Bronx street,” chief of Detectives Robert Boyce says.
Take the chief metric of the war in Vietnam—body counts, which ultimately did not answer whether the strategy was working.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War | Nancy A. Youssef | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThat act forever sealed his feeling for the chief, bound it up with the war, with violence, with the gun.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile | Robert Ward | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
She is skilful in seizing salient characteristics, and her chief aim is to preserve the individuality of her sitters and models.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D. | Clara Erskine ClementM'Bongo, the great chief of this neighbourhood, paid a ceremonial visit to my husband.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsBut,” said the prime minister of Flatland, starting a difficulty, “who is to be greatest chief?
The Giant of the North | R.M. BallantyneBut it was not only as an organiser and transmitter of orders that Berthier proved his usefulness to his chief.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-PattisonBy the end of the campaign of 1796 he had proved that he was as great a chief of the staff as Bonaparte was a great commander.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-Pattison
British Dictionary definitions for chief
/ (tʃiːf) /
the head, leader, or most important individual in a group or body of people
another word for chieftain (def. 2)
heraldry the upper third of a shield
in chief primarily; especially
(prenominal)
most important; principal
highest in rank or authority
archaic principally
Origin of chief
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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