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

Regardless, a full decade and a half later, Exxon’s new chief executive, Rex Tillerson, was still pushing the uncertainty line to a 2015 annual shareholders’ meeting. — Literary Hub, 10 Aug. 2026

The setback comes as John Ternus prepares to take over next month as Apple’s chief executive, succeeding longtime CEO Tim Cook. — Sebastian Herrera, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2026

Saving face Sam Altman, chief executive officer and co-founder of OpenAI, speaks during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. — Alex Harring, CNBC, 10 Aug. 2026

Key Background Rabinowitz was chief executive for a location-services technology company between 2000 and 2007 and co-founded Natera in 2005, working as chief executive for 14 years before becoming executive chairman. — Antonio Pequeño Iv, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 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