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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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Aggressive tactics by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents drew the ire of Rhode Island’s governor and state Supreme Court chief justice this week when a high school intern was detained and questioned before being released. Taylor Galgano Caroll Alvarado, CNN Money, 22 Nov. 2025 The chief justice of the Supreme Court will have her salary increase from $233,097 to $240,090, while the six associate justices on the court will see their pay go up from $215,843 to $222,318. Arkansas Online, 14 Nov. 2025 Jonathan Dienst Jonathan Dienst is chief justice contributor for NBC News and chief investigative reporter for WNBC-TV in New York. Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 6 Nov. 2025 In Nepal, for example, the Gen Z protests teed up the country’s first-ever female prime minister, former chief justice Sushila Karki. Michael Shank, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for chief justice

Word History

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of chief justice was in 1534

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Cite this Entry

“Chief justice.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chief%20justice. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

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

More from Merriam-Webster on chief justice

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