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 AustenSynonyms
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 WebChristopher Elliott, Forbes, 28 Sep. 2024
Cyberattacks complicate mundane and complex tasks alike, said Nate Couture, chief information security officer at the University of Vermont Health Network, which was struck by a ransomware attack in 2020.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 28 Sep. 2024
Studios co-chairman and co-CEO Peter Safran and Tim O’Brien, chief revenue officer for mobile gaming firm Scopely.
—William Earl, Variety, 28 Sep. 2024
All told, Westbrook hacked a CFO, a chief accounting officer, a director of finance and accounting, an associate controller, and a director of marketing communications, the indictment states.
—Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for chief 
Adjective
John Rose, the chief risk and security officer for ALTOUR, a global travel management company, turns to Crisis24, International SOS or Dataminr, for this type of information.
—Christopher Elliott, Forbes, 28 Sep. 2024
Cyberattacks complicate mundane and complex tasks alike, said Nate Couture, chief information security officer at the University of Vermont Health Network, which was struck by a ransomware attack in 2020.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 28 Sep. 2024
Studios co-chairman and co-CEO Peter Safran and Tim O’Brien, chief revenue officer for mobile gaming firm Scopely.
—William Earl, Variety, 28 Sep. 2024
All told, Westbrook hacked a CFO, a chief accounting officer, a director of finance and accounting, an associate controller, and a director of marketing communications, the indictment states.
—Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 28 Sep. 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.
Dictionary Entries Near chief
Cite this Entry
“Chief.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chief. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
chief
2 of 2 noun
: the head of a group : leader
chief of police
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