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Synonyms

editor in chief

American  

noun

plural

editors in chief
  1. the policy-making executive or principal editor of a publishing house, publication, etc.


editor in chief British  

noun

  1. the controlling editor of a publication

"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

Etymology

Origin of editor in chief

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In September, Wintour announced she was leaving her job as editor in chief of American Vogue, while continuing to oversee things from Condé Nast’s C-Suite.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026

In a statement, Alistair Weaver, Edmunds’s editor in chief, called the Geely Galaxy M9 “a wake-up call for the automotive industry.”

From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026

Bari Weiss, the right-leaning opinion journalist who is now CBS News’ editor in chief, bragged last week that the network was “on quite a roll” in an X thread that cited Jiang’s Trump interview.

From Slate • Mar. 18, 2026

Doherty began working at Reason in 1994, according to the publication’s obituary, left the company and returned in 2000 at the behest of Nick Gillespie, then editor in chief.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026

Joey said, “I don’t. You started it, and you’re still the editor in chief, so I vote that we keep the name the same.”

From "The Landry News" by Andrew Clements