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

See Examples For:

chief chiefs

"I don't expect a rate hike, but I do expect dissents," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

Rippey, who had worked as Newsom’s appointments secretary, was married to Alex Tourk, the then-mayor’s close friend, campaign manager and prior deputy chief of staff, when the affair became public in 2007.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Sherry House, Ford’s finance chief, said buyers are gravitating to larger off-road SUV and truck variants, which accounted for nearly a quarter of the company’s U.S. sales in the second quarter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Sylvia Jablonski, chief investment officer at Defiance ETFs, said the market was “reacting to the strategic implications rather than the near-term commercial impact.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

“I can’t believe this improvement,” the fire chief said.

From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson

The chiefs of the U.S.’s biggest oil companies—including Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum—are in regular contact with the Trump administration about the upheaval in energy markets, according to people familiar with the matter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Water chiefs say sewage leaking from damaged pipes could be a source of pollution which has plagued a seafront for years.

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026

The role of prime minister does not typically include a say on military strategy or frontline operations, where Zelensky and his military chiefs call the shots.

From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026

WASHINGTON—Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was planning to head to Brussels last month to deliver what would be a bombshell announcement in a meeting with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s top military chiefs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026

When Calchas declared that Chryseis must be given back to her father, he had all the chiefs behind him and Agamemnon, greatly angered, was obliged to agree.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

Related Words

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