chief justice

noun

Law. the presiding judge of a court having several members.
(initial capital letters) Official title Chief Justice of the United States. the presiding judge of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Origin of chief justice

First recorded in 1685–95

Related formschief jus·tice·ship, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

As Chief-justice, he was the head of the Judicial department.
Salem Witchcraft and Cotton Mather
Charles W. Upham
Chief-Justice Jay was sent to London to confer with the king, which he did.
Comic History of the United States
Bill Nye
Your late Chief-Justice Broderick is here, and they say violent as a tiger.
The Journal to Stella
Jonathan Swift
"I beg your pardon, again, brother Downright," interrupted the chief-justice.
The Monikins
J. Fenimore Cooper
Meditation, chief-justice, delivered the opinion of the bench.
The Monikins
J. Fenimore Cooper

British Dictionary definitions for chief justice

noun

(in any of several Commonwealth countries) the judge presiding over a supreme court
(in the US) the presiding judge of a court composed of a number of members