chief

1 coming before all others in importance our chief priority this year will be cutting the budget 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), supremeRelated 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, renownedNear Antonyms inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, minor, negligible, slight, trifling, trivial, unimportant; collateral, inferior, secondary, subordinate, subsidiaryAntonyms last, least

2 highest in rank or authority the chief administrator will be retiring soon Synonyms head, commanding, first, foremost, high, lead, leading, preeminent, premier, presiding, primary, prime, principal, supereminent, supreme, topRelated Words high-level, senior; controlling, directing, managing, officiating, overseeing, regnant, reigning, ruling, supervisory; main, major, paramount, predominant, predominate, sovereign (also sovran); ascendant (also ascendent), dominant, grand, superior, topmost, upmost, upper, uppermostNear Antonyms ancillary, inferior, last, less, lesser, lower, lowly, second, secondary, subordinate, subsidiary; assistant, assisting, coadjutor, deputy, junior, under

1 the main or greater part of something as distinguished from its subordinate parts the chief of the estate was left to the eldest son Synonyms brunt, bulk, body, core, generality, heft [archaic], main, mass, staple, weightRelated 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, topicNear Antonyms accessory (also accessary), adjunct, appendage, extension, offshoot; component, constituent, element, ingredient; division, part, piece, section, segment; angle, aspect, facet, feature, quality, side

2 the person (as an employer or supervisor) who tells people and especially workers what to do our chief is out on a business trip right now Synonyms boss man, captain, boss, foreman, head, headman, helmsman, honcho, jefe, kingpin, leader, master, taskmasterRelated Words directress, mistress; administrator, commander, director, executive, general, governor, hierarch, higher-up; leadman, manager, overseer, principal, skipper, standard-bearer, steward, straw boss, superintendent, superior, supervisor; dominator, lord, overlord, potentate, ruler, sovereign (also sovran); figurehead; slave driver; baron, czar (also tsar or tzar), king, magnate, mogul, president, prince; big cheese, big gun, bigwig, top dog, top gun; cohead, coleader; employer, gaffer [British], ganger [British]; micromanager; subchief, subdirectorNear Antonyms dependent, inferior, junior, secondary, subject, subordinate, underling