chief

American  

[cheef] / tʃif /

noun

• chiefs
  plural

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.

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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

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adjective

1. (prenominal)

   1. most important; principal

   2. highest in rank or authority

adverb

1. archaic principally

Sensitive Note

See powwow.

Synonym Usage

See capital ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• chiefs
  plural

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

Explanation

A chief is a leader, often of a tribe or clan. Sometimes we call the president our "commander in chief." A chief is the head honcho, the big cheese, the top dog. Tribes are lead by chiefs, but so are firefighters (fire chief), policeman (police chief), and companies (Chief Executive Officer or CEO). When used as an adjective, chief describes the most important element or main ingredient of something. You couldn't make mac and cheese without the chief ingredients: macaroni and cheese.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chief chiefs

“We’re doing everything we can to make sure we can do right by them and the work they committed,” LIV chief executive Scott O’Neil said of the Fresh Tape lawsuit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

So far, officers have conducted around 80 interviews and are planning to question nearly all the school's staff and students -- amounting to almost 450 people, according to police chief Alriksson.

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

CNN reported that White House chief of staff Susie Wiles met privately with Jennings at Mastro’s Steakhouse in Washington, with one senior administration official explaining the interest bluntly: Jennings is “competent and good on TV.”

From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026

George Zoley, the chief executive of GEO Group, which contracts with ICE to run detention centers in California and across the country, said as much to company shareholders this year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

Mr. Crabtree wanted to postpone Fire Prevention Day but the fire chief said he couldn’t do that.

From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson

Traders will be closely watching his speech at next week's annual meeting of central bankers, economists and finance chiefs in Jackson Hole, hoping for some clarification on monetary policy.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

Across the UK, council chiefs said budgets were being severely stretched by the spiraling cost of providing care, homelessness services and supporting looked after children as well as providing home to school transport.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

She said Meta plans to sit down with school superintendents and police chiefs to see what might be financially beneficial to them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

Like shoppers trying to keep the fridge stocked, pharmaceutical chiefs are constantly hunting for promising biotech drugs to replace expiring blockbusters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

I looked after matters for the regent, including his herd and his relations with other chiefs.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Related Words

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