chief justice

noun

: the presiding or principal judge of a court of justice

Examples of chief justice in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Born in the Morang district of eastern Nepal, Karki built a legal career culminating in her historic appointment as Nepal’s first female chief justice, in 2016. Sugam Pokharel, CNN Money, 12 Sep. 2025 But Rehnquist died suddenly about 6-1/2 weeks later, and Bush instead nominated Roberts to become chief justice. Jan Wolfe, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025 Bivens returns as Supreme Court chief justice Justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court unanimously elected Justice Jeff Bivins to serve as chief justice of the court this week. Vivian Jones, Nashville Tennessean, 5 Sep. 2025 Like the chief justice of the Supreme Court, the Fed chair represents just one vote but is also a first among equals who carried outsized influence. Jason Ma, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for chief justice

Word History

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of chief justice was in 1534

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Cite this Entry

“Chief justice.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chief%20justice. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

chief justice

noun
: the presiding or principal judge of a court of justice

Legal Definition

chief justice

noun
: a chief judge of a usually higher level court
specifically, often capitalized : the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
chief justiceship noun

More from Merriam-Webster on chief justice

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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