chief justice

noun

: the presiding or principal judge of a court of justice

Examples of chief justice in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

She’s hired a former Georgia Supreme Court chief justice as a special prosecutor to get the state’s appellate courts to weigh in. — Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 7 Aug. 2026

The current system was adopted by voters in 1958 following a notorious political scandal that saw a sitting governor conspire with the chief justice and his lieutenant governor to be appointed to the court after losing re-election. — Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 5 Aug. 2026

The system was implemented in 1958 following corruption scandal that saw the sitting governor conspire with the chief justice and the lieutenant governor to be appointed to the court after losing a re-election bid, according to the Kansas City Star. — Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 4 Aug. 2026

All five of its judges also sit on the FISC and are appointed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court. — Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 30 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for chief justice

• injustice

Kids Definition

chief justice

noun

: the presiding or principal judge of a court of justice

Legal Definition

chief justice

noun

: a chief judge of a usually higher level court

specifically, often capitalized : the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court

chief justiceship noun