chief

American  

[cheef] / tʃif /

noun

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

• chiefless
  adjective
• underchief
  noun
• subchief
  noun
• chiefship
  noun

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

Ugarte is a former deputy chief of staff for Price and Mazariegos is co-director of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Los Angeles and is backed by the Democratic Socialists of America.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026

Leading up to Abel’s succession, Berkshire had made moves to align related subsidiaries in its far-flung portfolio, last year bringing Helzberg Diamonds and Ben Bridge Jeweler under one chief executive.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026

They were Tonia Arey, a real estate agent who lives in the San Fernando Valley; Tomás Sidenfaden, a tech firm chief executive; and Carmenlina Minasova, a medical professional and resident of the Valley.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026

“You’re basically looking at stocks that have had some version of either sharp uptrends or parabolic moves, moving even higher. That’s a sign of speculation,” Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, told Barron’s.

From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026

I wasn’t sure why we didn’t get along, but I had a feeling that it was because my mom was the commander in chief, and he was just another Academy kid.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Related Words

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