chief

³chief

noun

Definition of CHIEF

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>

— chief·dom \-dəm\ noun

— chief·ship \-ˌship\ noun

— in chief

: in the chief position or place —often used in titles <commander in chief>

Examples of CHIEF

1. <the chief of the estate was left to the eldest son>
2. <our chief is out on a business trip right now>

Origin of CHIEF

Middle English, from Anglo-French chief, chef head, chief, from Latin caput head — more at head

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to CHIEF

Synonyms: brunt, bulk, body, core, generality, heft [archaic], main, mass, staple, weight

Related Words: majority; aggregate, amount, entirety, quantum, sum, sum total, total, totality, whole; bottom, essence, essentiality, marrow, meat, nature, pith, quintessence, root, soul, stuff, substance; center, heart, hub, kernel, middle, nucleus, nut, seat; affair, argument, burden, crux, focus, gist, nub, pitch, point, purport; matter, motif, subject, text, theme, topic

Near Antonyms: accessory (also accessary), adjunct, appendage, extension, offshoot; component, constituent, element, ingredient; division, part, piece, section, segment; angle, aspect, facet, feature, quality, side

see all synonyms and antonyms

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