chief executive

noun

: a principal executive: such as

a

: the president of a republic

b

: the governor of a state

c

: ceo

Examples of chief executive in a Sentence

The President is the chief executive of the U.S.

Recent Examples on the Web

In August, The Times reported the unusually large compensation paid to the nonprofit’s chief executive, Carol Adelkoff. — Audrey McGlinchy, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026

Aurelian Lis is stepping down as global chief executive officer of Dermalogica, WWD has learned. — Jenny B. Fine, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026

Yuriy Ryzhenkov is that rare individual—a chief executive who has led his firm of 33,700 people during a never-ending war. — Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2026

Today a good seating chart aims to create pods of energy, says Rachna Shah, chief executive of KCD. — Joan Kennedy, Vogue, 12 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1793, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for chief executive

• consecutive

Kids Definition

chief executive

noun

: a principal executive: as

a

: the president of a republic

b

: the governor of a state

c

: ceo