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
Adam Shatz 2
: cook
chef
intransitive verb
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
Capella’s tour through local markets has chefs function as guides, leading guests through the process of selecting ingredients and bringing them back into the kitchen to create a dish.
—Sydney Goh, CNBC, 22 Mar. 2026
Expect to see wineries of great pedigree from all over the world, with tables from Oregon, Portugal, France, Sicily and the Santa Cruz Mountains and food by 40 top chefs, including local and international sensations.
—Laura Ness, Mercury News, 22 Mar. 2026
Adding to the kitchen’s appeal, the layout allows the chef to have a view of a fire in the fireplace.
—James Alexander, Hartford Courant, 22 Mar. 2026
The 12-seat chef’s counter concept destined for Michelin wattage was born of SingleThread co-founders Kyle and Katina Connaughton’s connections to Japan.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for chef
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Sydney Goh, CNBC, 22 Mar. 2026
Expect to see wineries of great pedigree from all over the world, with tables from Oregon, Portugal, France, Sicily and the Santa Cruz Mountains and food by 40 top chefs, including local and international sensations.
—Laura Ness, Mercury News, 22 Mar. 2026
Adding to the kitchen’s appeal, the layout allows the chef to have a view of a fire in the fireplace.
—James Alexander, Hartford Courant, 22 Mar. 2026
The 12-seat chef’s counter concept destined for Michelin wattage was born of SingleThread co-founders Kyle and Katina Connaughton’s connections to Japan.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for chef
Cite this Entry
“Chef.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chef. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.
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chef
noun1
: a chief cook
2
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