chief executive
Americannoun
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the president of the United States.
the powers of the chief executive, as granted by the Constitution.
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the governor of a U.S. state.
the newly elected chief executive of Rhode Island.
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the head of a government.
a conference attended by all the European chief executives.
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Also called chief executive officer. the head of an organization, company, etc..
the chief executive of a media corporation.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of chief executive
An Americanism dating back to 1825–35
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.
The department in January gave a deferred prosecution agreement to the chief executive of a technology contractor who had been charged with defrauding the Securities and Exchange Commission.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
"We have been in this business for 16 years," said Fayrouz El-Sayed, chief executive of Sadat City Chemical Fibre Factory, which produces polyester fibres from used plastic bottles.
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
Watt stepped down as chief executive of the brand in 2024 to become its "captain and co-founder".
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Brian Chesky is the co-founder and chief executive of Airbnb and one of the world’s richest people.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
He ran Novell, one of Silicon Valley’s most important software firms, and in 2001, he became the chief executive officer of Google.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
