the head or leader of an organized body of people; the person highest in authority: the chief of police.
the head or ruler of a tribe or clan: an Indian chief.
(initial capital letter)U.S. Army. a title of some advisers to the Chief of Staff, who do not, in most instances, command the troop units of their arms or services: Chief of Engineers; Chief Signal Officer.
Informal. boss or leader: We'll have to talk to the chief about this.
Heraldry.
the upper area of an escutcheon.
an ordinary occupying this area.
adjective
highest in rank or authority: the chief priest; the chief administrator.
most important; principal: his chief merit; the chief difficulty.
adverb
Archaic. chiefly; principally.
Idioms for chief
in chief,
in the chief position; highest in rank (used in combination): editor in chief; commander in chief.
Heraldry.in the upper part of an escutcheon.
Origin of chief
1250–1300; Middle English <Anglo-French chief, chef,Old French chef<Vulgar Latin *capum, re-formation of Latin caputhead
BlackRock chief investment officer of global fixed income Rick Rieder asks rhetorically in a note.
An uncertain Fed for an uncertain time|Dion Rabouin|September 17, 2020|Axios
Over the past three months, the shop has seen three to four times the number of sales month over month, according to Rob DeChiaro, chief digital officer of Golf.
‘One endless loop’: How Golf is using its new retail marketplace as a first-party data play|Kayleigh Barber|September 16, 2020|Digiday
If all that weren’t enough, Dalio lost an arbitration fight with ex-staffers, is feuding with his former co-chief executive and has axed dozens of employees.
The losses continue to pile up for hedge fund king Ray Dalio|Bernhard Warner|September 15, 2020|Fortune
The former president and CEO of Bank Leumi, Israel’s largest bank by market cap, says no chief executive “should sit in their chair for dozens of years.”
She was one of the world’s few female bank CEOs. Now she’s founding a fintech venture group|Claire Zillman, reporter|September 15, 2020|Fortune
That’s now halved to four, said chief revenue officer Josh Stinchcomb.
‘Without the luxury of time’: The Wall Street Journal rolls out new products for the fast-tempo ad market|Lucinda Southern|September 15, 2020|Digiday
“Having been a legislator and a mayor, I particularly enjoy being a chief executive,” he said.
The Golden State Preps for the ‘Red Wedding’ of Senate Races|David Freedlander|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“You can imagine the sound of that gun on a Bronx street,” Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce says.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown|Michael Daly|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Take the chief metric of the war in Vietnam—body counts, which ultimately did not answer whether the strategy was working.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War|Nancy A. Youssef|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
That act forever sealed his feeling for the Chief, bound it up with the war, with violence, with the gun.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Throughout all the stories of loss and pain with the Chief, there was barely a trace of emotion.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Carlier said to Kayerts in a careless tone: "I say, chief, I might just as well give him a lift with this lot into the store."
Tales of Unrest|Joseph Conrad
The chief thought left by that meeting was: "Is that how he begins to everyone?"
Beyond|John Galsworthy
In this place the chief judge sat; his assessors had their seats on wooden benches along the walls.
Secret Societies of the Middle Ages|Thomas Keightley
Then he called the chief treasurer, who came forward with a golden tray in his hand.
Twilight Land|Howard Pyle
Carefully, silently, the chief crawled down from the rock, which immediately became again a small stone.
Basutoland|Minnie Martin
British Dictionary definitions for chief
chief
/ (tʃiːf) /
noun
the head, leader, or most important individual in a group or body of people