chief justice

noun

Synonyms of chief justicenext
: the presiding or principal judge of a court of justice

Examples of chief justice in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Before her role as chief justice, Hudson served eight years as a Minnesota Supreme Court associate justice and 13 years as a Minnesota Court of Appeals judge. Mary Murphy, Twin Cities, 13 May 2026 In his inauguration speech, Magyar again called on many of Orbán’s appointees, who are in their roles for lengthy terms, to step down no later than May 31, including the president, the attorney general, the head of the media authority and the chief justice of the Constitutional Court. Justin Spike, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026 Jonathan Dienst Jonathan Dienst is chief justice contributor for NBC News and chief investigative reporter for WNBC-TV in New York. Tom Winter, NBC news, 7 May 2026 Moira Donegan argued in the Guardian last week that the court’s 6-3 decision not only reflected its rightwing bias but completed chief justice John Roberts’s long project of dismantling the VRA. ABC News, 6 May 2026 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 16 May. 2026.

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

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