chief

[cheef]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR chief ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the head or leader of an organized body of people; the person highest in authority: the chief of police.

the head or ruler of a tribe or clan: an Indian chief.

(initial capital letter) U.S. Army. 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.

Informal. boss or leader: We'll have to talk to the chief about this.

Heraldry.

the upper area of an escutcheon.
an ordinary occupying this area.

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.

Idioms

in chief,

in the chief position; highest in rank (used in combination): editor in chief; commander in chief.
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

Synonyms for chief

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR chief ON THESAURUS.COM

7. foremost, leading, prime, paramount, cardinal.

Synonym study

7. See capital¹.

Antonyms for chief

6. subordinate.

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

Related Words for chiefest

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

Examples from the Web for chiefest

Historical Examples of chiefest

It was Latin, she said, and it meant "the chiefest among sinners."
Tiverton Tales
Alice Brown
In the sheer youth of her (he realized) more than in aught else, lay her chiefest charm.
The Black Bag
Louis Joseph Vance
And so I have shown you whence the first and chiefest delight of man's life springs.
The Praise of Folly
Desiderius Erasmus
Her society was his chiefest joy, and it is said that he ever remained faithful to her.
Henry IV, Makers of History
John S. C. Abbott
For this I hoped, for my life as it had become was no longer my chiefest good.
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete
Jacques Casanova de Seingalt

British Dictionary definitions for chiefest

chief

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)

most important; principal
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

Word Origin and History for chiefest

chief

adj.

c.1300, "highest in rank or power; most important or prominent; supreme, best," from Old French chief "chief, principal, first" (10c., Modern French chef), from Vulgar Latin *capum (also source of Spanish and Portuguese cabo, Italian capo, Provençal cap), from Latin caput "head," also "leader, guide, chief person; summit; capital city" (see capitulum).

chief

c.1300, "head, leader, captain; the principal or most important part of anything;" from Old French chief "leader, ruler, head" of something, "capital city" (10c., Modern French chef), from Vulgar Latin *capum, from Latin caput "head," also "leader, chief person; summit; capital city" (see capitulum). Meaning "head of a clan" is from 1570s; later extended to American Indian tribes. Commander-in-chief attested from 1660s.