chief justice

noun

: the presiding or principal judge of a court of justice

Examples of chief justice in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web She was named the state's first woman chief justice in 2014. Hayleigh Colombo, The Indianapolis Star, 21 Oct. 2024 Appointments are made by the governor, the state’s chief justice, the House speaker, the Senate president, and the minority party leaders of each chamber. Elise Schmelzer, The Denver Post, 13 Oct. 2024 Source: Bloomberg South Africa appointed its first woman as chief justice Mandisa Maya rose to the top of the nation’s highest judicial body after being inspired during childhood by Black lawyers, who were instrumental in winning rights for Black South Africans amid apartheid. Cameron Pugh, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Sep. 2024 Melissa Russo Jonathan Dienst Jonathan Dienst is chief justice contributor for NBC News and chief investigative reporter for WNBC-TV in New York. Phil Helsel, NBC News, 24 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for chief justice 

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

Word History

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of chief justice was in 1534

Dictionary Entries Near chief justice

Cite this Entry

“Chief justice.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chief%20justice. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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

More from Merriam-Webster on chief justice

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