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
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 him—
Jane Austen
Jane AustenExamples 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
Vanessa Swales, jsonline.com, 27 Oct. 2025
At the other end of the spectrum, Macquarie’s chief economist, David Doyle, tells Fortune that while Washington isn’t necessarily shaping its policy because of imminent recessionary fears, policymakers will be keen to maintain growth.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2025
Elizabeth D. Samet, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
Rosensweig, a former top executive at Yahoo who joined Chegg as CEO in 2010, stepped down from the post in April 2024, handing the job to Schultz, who was operating chief at the time.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chief
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Adjective
Six months after a high-profile arrest and indictment of a judge at the Milwaukee County Courthouse complex, the county's chief judge has yet to issue a formal policy about what leeway federal immigration agents have to operate in the county's halls of justice.
—Vanessa Swales, jsonline.com, 27 Oct. 2025
At the other end of the spectrum, Macquarie’s chief economist, David Doyle, tells Fortune that while Washington isn’t necessarily shaping its policy because of imminent recessionary fears, policymakers will be keen to maintain growth.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2025
Noun
The British military historian John Keegan revealed the hazards of this kind of planning in his anatomy of the Schlieffen Plan, the German strategy for fighting a two-front continental war that was devised, in 1905, by the chief of the army’s general staff, Alfred von Schlieffen.
—Elizabeth D. Samet, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
Rosensweig, a former top executive at Yahoo who joined Chegg as CEO in 2010, stepped down from the post in April 2024, handing the job to Schultz, who was operating chief at the time.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chief
Cite this Entry
“Chief.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chief. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
chief
2 of 2 noun
: the head of a group : leader
chief of police
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