chief

play

adjective \ ˈchēf \

Definition of chief

1 :accorded highest rank or office

chief librarian

the company's chief executive

2 :of greatest importance or influence

the chief reasons

their chief accomplishment

See chief defined for English-language learners

See chief defined for kids

Examples of chief in a Sentence

the chief engineer on the project
Her job is their chief source of income.
He has many concerns, chief among them his health.

Recent Examples of chief from the Web

Under current chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, however, the ICC is increasingly opportunistic in its approach.

— mark kersten, Washington Post, "Will the International Criminal Court’s latest target in Libya be brought to justice?," 31 Aug. 2017
While worries over North Korea’s missile launches may weigh on Japanese stocks, one technical level is providing some support, according to Naohiko Miyata, chief technical analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co.

— yuko takeo, Bloomberg.com, "Nikkei 225 Gets Technical Support Amid Geopolitical Risks: Chart," 30 Aug. 2017
For the entire year, Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, is forecasting growth of 2.1 percent.

— chicagotribune.com, "U.S. economic growth upgraded to 3 percent rate in Q2," 30 Aug. 2017
The company has said Peltz's perspective is outdated given his hiring of P&G's former chief financial officer Clayton Daley.

— alexander coolidge, Cincinnati.com, "Nelson Peltz tells Enquirer he wants a slimmer, flatter P&G," 30 Aug. 2017
After his speech, Strange sat with Chuck Lambert, the chief operating officer of American Apparel about some of the issues the business deals with, for about 15 minutes.

— william thornton wthornton@al.com, AL.com, "Luther Strange hears, talks economic issues in Centre," 28 Aug. 2017
REAL ESTATE Bradley L. Barreto, founding partner of Coral Gables Title + Escrow, will be chief financial officer of the company.

— miamiherald, "Senior-level hires and promotions for the week of Aug. 29, 2017," 28 Aug. 2017
Seldom if ever before in his tenure has this president so publicly performed the role of chief executive: the demonstrations of command, the expressions of concern for the wellbeing of citizens.

— david frum, The Atlantic, "Trump Won't Back Down," 26 Aug. 2017
But then there were people like [Bernie’s chief strategist] Tad Devine, who was super encouraging and told me right out the gate,

— olivia nuzzi, The Cut, "Just Try and Silence Symone Sanders," 23 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chief.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of chief

see ³chief

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

chief Synonyms

Synonyms

arch, big, capital, cardinal, central, foremost, dominant, first, grand, great, greatest, highest, key, leading, main, master, number one (also No. 1), numero uno, overbearing, overmastering, overriding, paramount, predominant, preeminent, premier, primal, primary, principal, prior, sovereign (also sovran), supreme

Antonyms

last, least

Related Words

distinguished, eminent, illustrious, noble, notable, noteworthy, outstanding, prestigious, signal, star, stellar, superior; high-level, senior, top; important, influential, major, mighty, momentous, significant; incomparable, matchless, unequaled (or unequalled), unparalleled, unsurpassed; celebrated, famed, famous, renowned

Near Antonyms

inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, minor, negligible, slight, trifling, trivial, unimportant; collateral, inferior, secondary, subordinate, subsidiary

chief

adverb

Definition of chief

archaic

:chiefly

First Known Use of chief

14th century

chief

noun

Definition of chief

1 :the upper part of a heraldic field

2 :the head of a body of persons or an organization :leader

chief of police

3 :the principal or most valuable part

would never rest till she had read the chief of the letter to him
—Jane Austen

—

chiefdom

play \-dəm\ noun

—

chiefship

play \-ˌship\ noun

— in chief

:in the chief position or place —often used in titles

commander in chief

See chief defined for English-language learners

Examples of chief in a Sentence

the chief of the estate was left to the eldest son
our chief is out on a business trip right now

Recent Examples of chief from the Web

Instead, the cheerleader-in-chief spent the month ripping open a painful national wound over race while antagonizing his would-be Republican allies on Capitol Hill.

— tory newmyer, Washington Post, "The Finance 202: Trump speech will bash rigged system. But tax outline would benefit 1 percent.," 30 Aug. 2017
Senior officials, led by John F. Kelly, the chief of staff, have gingerly urged the president to stick to a script vetted through official channels.

— glenn thrush, New York Times, "Harvey Gives Trump a Chance to Reclaim Power to Unify," 29 Aug. 2017
Catherine Mann, OECD chief economist, discusses ECB President Mario Draghi's remarks at the Kansas City Fed's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

— Bloomberg.com, "OECD's Mann Says Open Trade Fosters Productivity Growth," 25 Aug. 2017
Burke is the chief investigator for the Warren County Coroner's Office.

— keith bierygolick, Cincinnati.com, "Inside a record-breaking overdose," 24 Aug. 2017
When Herbello grabbed his daughter and headed for the exit in the kitchen, others followed, the chief said.

— charles rabin, miamiherald, "There wasn’t a shooter, but security experts say the Dolphin Mall had to be cleared," 23 Aug. 2017
While the overthinking American depressive in me wishes this was a collective cultural response to the misogynist-in-chief currently running things, of course that’s silly.

— steve erickson, Los Angeles Magazine, "With Atomic Blonde, Charlize Theron Thrusts Another Dagger into Old Hollywood," 22 Aug. 2017
Meanwhile, Paul Pastorek, chief of staff for the school district's emergency manager, said a plan is being established to better secure dozens of vacant schools.

— carole carlson, Post-Tribune, "'Suspicious' fire probed at closed Gary high school," 21 Aug. 2017
By the time Anthony T. Mazzola was named editor in chief of Harper’s Bazaar in 1972, the magazine was already wrestling with a major sociological shift.

— stephen mooallem, Harper's BAZAAR, "Free Love and Fashion," 18 Aug. 2017

Origin and Etymology of chief

Middle English, from Anglo-French chief, chef head, chief, from Latin caput head — more at head

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

chief Synonyms

Synonyms

brunt, bulk, body, core, generality, heft [archaic], main, mass, staple, weight

Related Words

majority; aggregate, amount, entirety, quantum, sum, sum total, total, totality, whole; bottom, essence, essentiality, marrow, meat, nature, pith, quintessence, root, soul, stuff, substance; center, heart, hub, kernel, middle, nucleus, nut, seat; affair, argument, burden, crux, focus, gist, nub, pitch, point, purport; matter, motif, subject, text, theme, topic

Near Antonyms

accessory (also accessary), adjunct, appendage, extension, offshoot; component, constituent, element, ingredient; division, part, piece, section, segment; angle, aspect, facet, feature, quality, side

CHIEF Defined for English Language Learners

chief

play

adjective

Definition of chief for English Language Learners

: highest in rank or authority
: most important

chief

noun

Definition of chief for English Language Learners

: the person who is the leader of a group of people, of an organization, etc.

CHIEF Defined for Kids

chief

play

noun \ ˈchēf \

Definition of chief for Students

:the head of a group :leader

the chief of police

— in chief

:in the highest ranking position or place

editor in chief

chief

adjective

Definition of chief for Students

1 :highest in rank or authority

chief executive

2 :most important :main

a chief reason

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chief

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chief

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chiefdom

chiefship

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