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

JPMorgan JPM -0.21%decrease; down pointing triangle Chase named Doug Petno and Troy Rohrbaugh as co-presidents of the company, putting them in the lead as candidates to succeed Chief Executive Jamie Dimon.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 25, 2026

In the United States, 1 in 4 adults are in medical debt, said Undue Medical Debt President and Chief Executive Allison Sesso in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 25, 2026

Chief executive Anthony May said he came away from the announcement with a "renewed commitment" to continuing to improve, including implementing all of the essential actions detailed in Donna Ockenden's report.

From BBC • Jun. 25, 2026

Her job often put her within the small circle that traveled with Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg to far-flung locations, and on private planes with Zuckerberg’s second-in-command, Sandberg.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 25, 2026

I tell myself that he is wily and smart, and will not easily fall into Chief Powhatan’s trap.

From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone

Related Words

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