chief

American  

[cheef] / tʃif /

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. U.S. Army. Chief, 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.

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.

chief British  

/ 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. primarily; especially

---

adjective

1. (prenominal)

   1. most important; principal

   2. highest in rank or authority

adverb

1. archaic principally

Sensitive Note

See powwow.

Related Words

See capital ¹.

Other Word Forms

• chiefless adjective
• chiefship noun
• subchief noun
• underchief noun

Etymology

Origin of chief

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

Example Sentences

"At this stage, we have no information that the fuel has started to disperse," the civil protection service's press chief, Pierfrancesco Demilito, told a news conference.

From Barron's

Rob Deeks, the chief executive of Slough-based youth charity Together As One, said the town currently does not serve its young population well.

From BBC

Moloney KC said: "So to be clear are you, as the former chief constable of Nottinghamshire Police, saying to the chair that it would have made no difference?"

From BBC

The former police chief tasked with cutting the number of small boat crossings across the Channel has resigned from the job just 18 months after being appointed by Sir Keir Starmer.

From BBC

Another big user was Fiserv, the payments company led until May by Frank Bisignano, who is now the IRS chief executive.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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