definitions

chief

[ cheef ]
/ tʃif /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR chief ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

adjective

highest in rank or authority: the chief priest; the chief administrator.
most important; principal: his chief merit; the chief difficulty.

adverb

Archaic. chiefly; principally.

RELATED WORDS

prime, leading, main, preeminent, principal, superior, head, star, champion, grand, premier, major, primary, cardinal, ruling, key, capital, telling, central, arch

Nearby words

chicory, chicoutimi, chid, chidden, chide, chief, chief agglutinin, chief cell, chief constable, chief cook and bottlewasher, chief education officer

Idioms

    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.

Origin of chief

1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French chief, chef, Old French chef < Vulgar Latin *capum, re-formation of Latin caput head
Related formschief·less, adjectivechief·ship, nounsub·chief, nounun·der·chief, noun
Can be confusedchef chief

Synonym study

7. See capital1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for chiefest

British Dictionary definitions for chiefest

chief

/ (tʃiːf) /

noun

the head, leader, or most important individual in a group or body of people
another word for chieftain (def. 2)
heraldry the upper third of a shield
in chief primarily; especially

adjective

(prenominal)
  1. most important; principal
  2. highest in rank or authority

adverb

archaic principally

Word Origin for chief

C13: from Old French, from Latin caput head
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012