chief

1 of 3

adjective

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

chief

2 of 3

adverb

archaic

chief

3 of 3

noun

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 himJane Austen
chiefship noun
Phrases
in chief
: in the chief position or place
often used in titles
commander in chief

Examples of chief in a Sentence

Adjective the chief engineer on the project Her job is their chief source of income. He has many concerns, chief among them his health. Noun the chief of the estate was left to the eldest son our chief is out on a business trip right now
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Amid the managerial overhaul announced Tuesday, HSBC said Pam Kaur — currently group chief risk and compliance officer — will assume the CFO post on Jan. 1, taking over from interim Chief Financial Officer Jon Bingham. Ruxandra Iordache, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2024 That attention to both assisted self-service and high-touch interaction is the dominant trend in customer service, says Jason Maynard, chief technology officer for North America and Asia-Pacific at Zendesk, which runs one of the world's largest customer service platforms. Heather Newman, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024 Oddity’s global chief financial officer Lindsay Drucker Mann told WWD that SpoiledChild is profitable, delivering $110 million in net revenue during 2023. Ryma Chikhoune, WWD, 22 Oct. 2024 Kaur, 60, takes over as CFO having served as HSBC’s chief risk and compliance officer. Reuters, CNN, 22 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for chief 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chief.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Adjective

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

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of chief was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near chief

Cite this Entry

“Chief.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chief. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

chief

1 of 2 adjective
1
: highest in rank or authority
chief librarian
2
: most important : main
your chief claim to fame

chief

2 of 2 noun
: the head of a group : leader
chief of police
Etymology

Noun

Middle English chief "top part, head," from early French chief "head, chief," from Latin caput "head" — related to capital, captain

More from Merriam-Webster on chief

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