chief

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chief

(chēf)

1. One who is highest in rank or authority; a leader.

a. A chief petty officer.

b. Nautical The chief engineer of a ship.

3. Slang A supervisor; a boss.

4. Heraldry The upper section of a shield.

adj.

1. Highest in rank, authority, or office: the chief scientist in the lab.

2. Most important or influential: the chief ingredients in the stew. See Usage Note at absolute.

chief′dom n.

chief′ship′ n.

Synonyms: chief, foremost, leading¹, main, primary, prime, principal
These adjectives refer to what is first in rank, importance, or influence: his chief concern; the foremost scholar in her field; the leading cause of heart disease; the main building on campus; the primary purpose of the legislation; a prime example of wasteful spending; the principal figures in the plot.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

chief

(tʃiːf)

1. the head, leader, or most important individual in a group or body of people

3. (Heraldry) heraldry the upper third of a shield

4. in chief primarily; especially

adj

(prenominal)

a. most important; principal

b. highest in rank or authority

[C13: from Old French, from Latin caput head]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

chief

(tʃif)

1. the head or leader of an organized body: the chief of police.

2. the ruler of a tribe or clan: an Indian chief.

4. the upper area of a heraldic field.

adj.

5. highest in rank or authority.

6. most important; principal: the chief difficulty.

adv.

7. Archaic. chiefly.

Idioms:

in chief, highest in rank (used in combination): commander in chief.

[1250–1300; < Anglo-French chief, chef < Vulgar Latin *capum, Latin caput head]

chief′dom, n.

chef

– chief

1. 'chef'

A chef /ʃef/ is a cook in a hotel or restaurant.

Her recipe was passed on to the chef.

He works as a chef in a large Paris hotel.

2. 'chief'

The chief /tʃiːf/ of a group or organization is its leader.

The police chief has resigned.

I spoke to Jim Stretton, chief of UK operations.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	chief - a person who is in charge; "the head of the whole operation" top dog, head leader - a person who rules or guides or inspires others administrator, executive - someone who manages a government agency or department administrator, decision maker - someone who administers a business capo - the head of a branch of an organized crime syndicate department head - the head of a department don, father - the head of an organized crime family superior general, general - the head of a religious order or congregation general manager - the highest ranking manager grand dragon - a high ranking person in the Ku Klux Klan head of household - the head of a household or family or tribe secretary - a person who is head of an administrative department of government
	2.	chief - a person who exercises control over workers; "if you want to leave early you have to ask the foreman" boss, foreman, honcho, gaffer baas - South African term for `boss' ganger - the foreman of a work gang assistant foreman, straw boss - a member of a work gang who supervises the other workers supervisor - one who supervises or has charge and direction of
	3.	chief - the head of a tribe or clan tribal chief, chieftain, headman leader - a person who rules or guides or inspires others Indian chief, Indian chieftain - the leader of a group of Native Americans pendragon - the supreme war chief of the ancient Britons
Adj.	1.	chief - most important element; "the chief aim of living"; "the main doors were of solid glass"; "the principal rivers of America"; "the principal example"; "policemen were primary targets"; "the master bedroom"; "a master switch" main, master, principal, primary important, of import - of great significance or value; "important people"; "the important questions of the day"

chief

noun

1. head, leader, director, manager, lord, boss (informal), captain, master, governor, commander, principal, superior, ruler, superintendent, chieftain, ringleader, baas (S. African) The new leader is the deputy chief of the territory's defence force.
head subject, follower, subordinate

adjective

1. primary, highest, leading, main, prime, capital, central, key, essential, premier, supreme, most important, outstanding, principal, prevailing, cardinal, paramount, big-time (informal), foremost, major league (informal), predominant, uppermost, pre-eminent, especial Financial stress is acknowledged as a chief reason for divorce. The job went to one of his chief rivals.
primary least, minor, subsidiary, subordinate

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

chief

noun

1. One who is highest in rank or authority:

2. A professional politician who controls a party or political machine:

3. Slang. Someone who directs and supervises workers:

boss, director, foreman, foreperson, forewoman, head, manager, overseer, superintendent, supervisor, taskmaster, taskmistress.

adjective

1. Having or exercising authority:

2. Most important, influential, or significant:

capital, cardinal, first, foremost, key, leading, main, major, number one, paramount, premier, primary, prime, principal, top.

Translations

vedoucíhlavnínáčelníkšéfhlava

chefhøvdinghoved-ledendeleder

pää-päällikkö

glavnišef

æîstur, yfir-aîal-; helstur

･･･長主要な

우두머리제1의

vadas

galvenaispriekšnieksvadītājsvadonisvirsaitis

poglavarpoglavitenpoveljnik

huvud-ledare

ผู้นำสำคัญ

người đứng đầutrưởng

chief

[tʃiːf]

B. N [of organization] → jefe/a m/f; [of tribe] → jefe/a m/f, cacique m (= boss) → jefe/a m/f, patrón(ona) m/f
yes, chief! → ¡sí, jefe!
Chief of Staff (Mil) → Jefe del Estado Mayor
... in chief → ... en jefe

C. CPD chief constable N (Brit) → jefe/a m/f de policía
chief executive N (Brit) (local government) → director(a) m/f; [of company] (also chief executive officer) → director(a) m/f general
chief inspector N (Brit) (Police) → inspector(a) m/f jefe
chief justice N (US) → presidente/a m/f del Tribunal Supremo
chief superintendent N (Brit) (Police) → comisario/a m/f jefe/a

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

chief

n pl <-s>

(of organization) → Leiter(in) m(f), → Chef(in) m(f) (inf); (of clan) → Oberhaupt nt; (of tribe) → Häuptling m; (of gang) → Anführer(in) m(f); (inf: = boss) → Boss m (inf), → Chef m; chief of police → Polizeipräsident(in) or -chef(in) m(f); chief of staff (Mil) → Stabschef(in) m(f); chief of state → Staatschef(in) m(f)

(Her) → Schildhaupt nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

chief

(tʃiːf) adjective

greatest in importance etc. the chief cause of disease.

noun

the head of a clan or tribe, or a department, business etc.

ˈchiefly adverb

mainly. She became ill chiefly because she did not eat enough.

ˌchief eˈxecutive ˌofficer noun

(also CEO) the president of a large company.

ˈchieftain (-tən) noun

the head of a clan, tribe etc.

chief

→ رَئِيس, رَئِيسيّ hlavní, vedoucí chef, ledende Oberhaupt, wichtigster αρχηγός, κύριος en jefe, jefe pää-, päällikkö chef, principal glavni, šef capo ･･･長, 主要な 우두머리, 제1의 leider, voornaamst leder, sjefs- główny, szef chefe руководитель, старший huvud-, ledare ผู้นำ, สำคัญ baş, şef người đứng đầu, trưởng 首要的, 首领

chief

n. jefe-a;

___ complaint → queja principal.