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

Both Clark and the chef have experience working through a large renovation project and planning is underway for how the restaurant will serve members during the construction. —Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Nov. 2025

The collaboration is Silverton’s first in creating an exclusive menu for Soho House members after previous partnerships at the Soho Farmhouse Food Festival in 2022 and 2024, and through the One Night Only guest chef series in 2024. —Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 11 Nov. 2025

Paine, a former hotel chef on Madison Square Park in New York, helped come up with the formula, which includes New York deli-quality meats. —Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Nov. 2025

The story follows four standalone, but interlinked tales, each inspired by an iconic Chinese dish and tied together by a spectral chef, who presides over a mysterious, otherwordly restaurant. —Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 10 Nov. 2025

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