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

Sensitivity

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

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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

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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

“This is what happens: we shift into a more sustainable velocity for the economy and for earnings,” said Dan Farley, the chief investment officer for U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

On Friday, however, he elevated Stephen Miller, his bare-knuckled political operative and longtime adviser, to replace Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

Abdy exited her role as co-chair and chief executive officer of Warner Bros. after the studio was acquired by Paramount Skydance in a controversial merger that closed last month.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

My new co-workers were newspaper veterans, led by our editor in chief, David Talbot, and until recently employed by the city’s now extinct evening newspaper.

From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2026

In 1928, the Red Army’s chief of staff, Mikhail Tukhachevsky, had published a report called The Future War.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa will meet with Canada's Mark Carney in Montreal on the second day of a summit that also features talks between Canadian ministers and senior EU officials.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

As Intterra began hearing both the admiration fire chiefs had for Watch Duty and their frustration with it, the company started designing the Aware app.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026

On Sunday, Rezaei took the rare step of meeting with security chiefs from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey in Tehran, as all sides sought de-escalation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

Burnham will meet fire chiefs, local leaders and experts from tech companies at the summit.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

“He’ll be right back. Sadie, how am I going to tell him about the new chiefs canceling Fireball?”

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

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Related Words

• captain
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