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

• 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

Customers will receive a digital scratch-off card with every order, with prizes ranging from a free scoop to a personal ice cream-making session with Salt & Straw chef, founder and cookbook author Tyler Malek. —Dina Kaur, AZCentral.com, 21 July 2025

The chef will serve soul food in the 2,500-square-foot space, opening for lunch and dinner with occasional brunches. —Max Scheinblum, Denver Post, 19 July 2025

The Young People Calling Des Moines Home Josh, 42, is a chef and a Des Moines native. —Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 July 2025

Add to that indoor and outdoor swimming pools, padel and pickleball courts, a 600-yard jogging track, multiple restaurants with rotating guest chefs, lecture halls, two helicopters, and a pair of submersibles, and Ulyssia feels more like a five-star resort than a yacht. —Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 19 July 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