Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for chiefdom. Search instead for chiefdoms.

chiefdom

American  
[cheef-duhm] / ˈtʃif dəm /

noun

  1. the rank or office of a chief.

  2. the territory or people over which a chief rules.


Etymology

Origin of chiefdom

First recorded in 1570–80; chief + -dom

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

As Baumgartel explained, "We believe these people were egalitarian hunter-gatherers, not subjects to some powerful chiefdom."

From Science Daily Nov. 24, 2025

Archaeologists believe Tequesta, which straddled both banks of the Miami River, became the capital of a chiefdom that stretched across southeast Florida from roughly 500 B.C.E. to the 1500s C.E.

From Science Magazine Apr. 10, 2023

Under the Piscataway chiefdom, other tribes — including the Yaocomico, Mattawoman, Pamunkey, Mattaponi and Nanjemoy — were interconnected with their own systems of justice, governing and defending themselves.

From Washington Post Nov. 7, 2022

Four people have been brought to the hospital, according to Pilo Mulindo, the head of the chiefdom of Bahema N’adhere.

From Washington Times Feb. 2, 2022

Some believe that there was a fifth power: Chalcatzingo, an important chiefdom between the Central Basin and Oaxaca.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training