1
: accorded highest rank or office
chief librarian
the company's chief executive
2
: of greatest importance or influence
the chief reasons
their chief accomplishment
1
: the upper part of a heraldic field
2
: the head of a body of persons or an organization : leader
chief of police
3
: the principal or most valuable part
… would never rest till she had read the chief of the letter to him …—
Jane Austen
Jane Austensee also in chief
Examples of chief in a Sentence
Adjective
the chief engineer on the project
Her job is their chief source of income.
He has many concerns, chief among them his health.
Noun
the chief of the estate was left to the eldest son
our chief is out on a business trip right now
Recent Examples on the Web
Arkansas Online, 21 Dec. 2025
In addition to Downey as the chief villain, it was confirmed during Comic-Con that both the Fantastic Four and the Thunderbolts would appear in Avengers 5 and 6.
—Kelsie Gibson, PEOPLE, 20 Dec. 2025
Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 23 Dec. 2025
Libya’s army chief was killed in a plane crash while returning home from an official visit to Turkey on Tuesday, the country’s prime minister said.
—Gul Tuysuz, CNN Money, 23 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chief
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Adjective
Reddit's chief moderator for the Providence subreddit said in an interview that he's been on the platform for about 15 years and remembers the trauma that false Boston Marathon report caused.
—Arkansas Online, 21 Dec. 2025
In addition to Downey as the chief villain, it was confirmed during Comic-Con that both the Fantastic Four and the Thunderbolts would appear in Avengers 5 and 6.
—Kelsie Gibson, PEOPLE, 20 Dec. 2025
Noun
Reality is far more complicated, Ipsit Vahia, the chief of geriatric psychiatry at Mass General Brigham’s McLean Hospital and the director of its Technology and Aging Laboratory, told me.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 23 Dec. 2025
Libya’s army chief was killed in a plane crash while returning home from an official visit to Turkey on Tuesday, the country’s prime minister said.
—Gul Tuysuz, CNN Money, 23 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chief
Cite this Entry
“Chief.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chief. Accessed 24 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
chief
2 of 2 noun
: the head of a group : leader
chief of police
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