chef

noun

ˈshef 

plural chefs

1

: a skilled professional cook

a trained chef

specifically : one who is in charge of a professional kitchen

I wrote to the chef of an acclaimed New American restaurant on the Upper East Side about my food experiences. He invited me to spend a few days in the kitchen on a trial basis.

—Adam Shatz

2

: cook

chef intransitive verb

chefdom

ˈshef-dəm 

noun

Synonyms of chef

• cook
• baker

Examples of chef in a Sentence

The hotel's chef trained at the finest culinary institutes in Europe.

He's the head chef at a five-star restaurant.

a celebrity chef with her own TV show

My friend is an excellent chef.

Recent Examples on the Web

Pyles is the second award-winning chef to depart from a small-town hotel west of Fort Worth. —Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Jan. 2026

But Bourdain, with his devil-be-damned demeanor, somehow makes the dish feel approachable — even though the two chefs’ recipes are pretty similar. —Gretchen McKay, Boston Herald, 7 Jan. 2026

The increasingly popular Nassau Paradise Island Wine and Food Festival, which draws star chefs and culinary figures like Andrew Zimmern, helps raise money for this work. —Jesse Ashlock, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Jan. 2026

German chef Heinz Beck, who’s behind Rome’s only three-Michelin-star restaurant, created the menus for the LDVOE. —Laura Itzkowitz, Travel + Leisure, 7 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

French, short for chef de cuisine head of the kitchen

First Known Use

1826, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing chef

• chef de cuisine
• chef d'oeuvre
• chef's kiss
• chef's knife
• chef's salad
• executive chef
• sous chef

Rhymes for chef

• clef
• deaf
• ref

Kids Definition

chef

noun

ˈshef 

1

: a chief cook

2

: cook entry 1