chef
Americannoun
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chefs
plural
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the chief cook, especially in a restaurant or hotel, usually responsible for planning menus, ordering foodstuffs, overseeing food preparation, and supervising the kitchen staff.
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any cook.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of chef
From French, dating back to 1835–45; see origin at chief
Explanation
Someone whose job is cooking food and planning menus at a restaurant is a chef. Many chefs graduate from cooking school, while others learn cooking techniques by observing and working with experienced chefs.. The word chef often specifies someone who cooks fancy or expensive food — in contrast, you might call a man who fries burgers at a fast food place or a woman who makes grilled cheese sandwiches at a diner simply cooks. The chef is generally at the top of the food chain in a restaurant kitchen, the boss of the other workers. Chef is French, short for chef de cuisine, or "head of the kitchen."
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:
Hong, a Wisconsin state assemblywoman, a single mother and a former chef, was believed by many observers to be the frontrunner as she entered election day in what proved to be a crowded Democratic primary.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
A marquee chef hasn’t been announced yet, but the restaurant is operated by Rhubarb Events & Hospitality Collection, which is part of the investment firm Oak View Group.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
With a seeming majority of opticians and pharmacists out of stock, pastry chef Arno Dossogne, 37, struck gold at a small opticians' store that received a last-minute shipment Monday afternoon.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
In the film, Early plays Maddie Ralph, an aspiring test-kitchen chef at a hip food publication.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
He liked her, even before he knew that this was the head chef and therefore the mastermind behind the lasagna.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
When Netflix announced the first-ever Chef’s Table Food Festival, bringing 70 internationally acclaimed chefs to Park City for four days of dinners, demonstrations and excursions, I felt something between excitement and apprehension.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
Among those supporters is a sizable cadre of chefs who still see Noma and Redzepi as one and the same.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
That includes a camera-equipped oven that tells home chefs when their cookies are done, and the first refrigerator to make chewable nugget ice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Top UK chefs call for cutting VAT for pubs and restaurants to 10%
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
It’s not as if I’m trying to disappear, but I won’t exactly be upset if these junior chefs don’t notice me.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
