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
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 7 Dec. 2025
The mayor also appointed Russ Stark, who was city council president at the time, to the position of chief resilience officer, a kind of environmental policy director for the city.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 7 Dec. 2025
Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 9 Dec. 2025
Hatuey, the Taíno chief who fought the Spanish conquistadores and is known as the Americas’ earliest revolutionary, was a caudillo.
—Abraham Jiménez Enoa, The Dial, 9 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chief
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
The longest-serving chief usher at the White House shares behind-the-scenes memories of past presidents.
—Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 7 Dec. 2025
The mayor also appointed Russ Stark, who was city council president at the time, to the position of chief resilience officer, a kind of environmental policy director for the city.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 7 Dec. 2025
Noun
Coinciding with the release of the new Netflix documentary The New Yorker at 100, the magazine's editor-in-chief David Remnick spoke with PEOPLE about how the publication maintains some of its traditions as media consumption patterns evolve.
—Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 9 Dec. 2025
Hatuey, the Taíno chief who fought the Spanish conquistadores and is known as the Americas’ earliest revolutionary, was a caudillo.
—Abraham Jiménez Enoa, The Dial, 9 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 13 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
chief
2 of 2 noun
: the head of a group : leader
chief of police
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share