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. See chieftain
   another word for chieftain
3. heraldry the upper third of a shield
4. in chief
   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

BlackRock chief investment officer of global fixed income Rick Rieder asks rhetorically in a note.

From Axios

Over the past three months, the shop has seen three to four times the number of sales month over month, according to Rob DeChiaro, chief digital officer of Golf.

From Digiday

If all that weren’t enough, Dalio lost an arbitration fight with ex-staffers, is feuding with his former co-chief executive and has axed dozens of employees.

From Fortune

The former president and CEO of Bank Leumi, Israel’s largest bank by market cap, says no chief executive “should sit in their chair for dozens of years.”

From Fortune

That’s now halved to four, said chief revenue officer Josh Stinchcomb.

From Digiday

“Having been a legislator and a mayor, I particularly enjoy being a chief executive,” he said.

From The Daily Beast

This is a blow against freedom of speech, we were told, by the likes of Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson.

From The Daily Beast

“You can imagine the sound of that gun on a Bronx street,” Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce says.

From The Daily Beast

Take the chief metric of the war in Vietnam—body counts, which ultimately did not answer whether the strategy was working.

From The Daily Beast

That act forever sealed his feeling for the Chief, bound it up with the war, with violence, with the gun.

From The Daily Beast

She is skilful in seizing salient characteristics, and her chief aim is to preserve the individuality of her sitters and models.

From Project Gutenberg

M'Bongo, the great chief of this neighbourhood, paid a ceremonial visit to my husband.

From Project Gutenberg

But,” said the prime minister of Flatland, starting a difficulty, “who is to be greatest chief?

From Project Gutenberg

But it was not only as an organiser and transmitter of orders that Berthier proved his usefulness to his chief.

From Project Gutenberg

By 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.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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