chief
Noun pluralchiefs
Pluralchiefs
Formschiefs, chiefing, chiefed
- 1First in importance or rank; principal.
The committee's chief objective was reducing waste across all departments.
His chief rival withdrew from the race at the last minute.
UsageUsed before a noun, often after the or one of the: the chief cause, one of the chief reasons.
Similarmain, principal, primary, foremost, leading
Oppositeminor, secondary, subordinate, lesser
Note
Logic says nothing can be more principal than principal, yet English compares this adjective anyway. Chiefer and chiefest exist alongside more chief and most chief. In an 18th-century treatise on hell, Tobias Swinden wrote of certain volcanoes as "the chiefest of those" near the torrid zone.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- Chiefer exists as a comparative of chief, alongside more chief. en.wiktionary.org
- Chiefest exists as a superlative of chief, alongside most chief. en.wiktionary.org
- Tobias Swinden wrote an eighteenth-century treatise on hell; its first publication was in 1714. en.wikisource.org
- Swinden used the quoted words about volcanoes near the torrid zone. en.wiktionary.org
- 2The person who leads a tribe, organization, business unit, or other group.
The police chief addressed reporters outside the courthouse.
Department chiefs met weekly to coordinate the merger.
UsageOften after another noun: police chief, fire chief; or with of: chief of police, chief of staff.
Similarboss, leader, head, manager, director
Oppositesubordinate, underling
Note
The word still carries the weight of traditional authority: in Long Walk to Freedom (1994), Nelson Mandela calls his father "a chief by both blood and custom."
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Nelson Mandela's autobiography Long Walk to Freedom was first published in 1994. nelsonmandela.org
- In Long Walk to Freedom, Mandela describes his father using the exact quoted words. zambiancu.org
- 3Headship, the status of being leader, used only in the phrase 'in chief' after a title or role.
After the merger, she was named editor in chief of both magazines.
My sister appoints herself worrier in chief before every family trip.
UsageWritten with or without hyphens: editor in chief or editor-in-chief. The plural goes on the title: editors in chief.
Note
Only the fixed phrase in chief keeps this meaning alive. Placed after a title, it marks the person at the very top: editor in chief, or jokingly, troubleshooter in chief. Heraldry has its own in chief, meaning in the upper part of a shield, where the shield's top band sits. Context separates the two: one follows a role, the other places a design on a shield.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The headship sense of chief survives in the fixed phrase in chief. en.wiktionary.org
- After an occupational noun, in chief denotes the highest position. en.wiktionary.org
Less common meanings
- 4An informal way to address someone directly, often jokingly or with light irony.
Easy there, chief, nobody's blaming you for the mistake.
You sure about that, chief? The map says otherwise.
UsageUsed like a name when talking to someone: thanks, chief. Depending on tone it can sound friendly or condescending.
Similarpal, buddy, boss, mate, champ
Note
Address with a wink: the speaker hands someone a mock title, sometimes friendly and sometimes needling. In J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye (1951), an elevator operator asks, "How old are you, chief?" There the title sounds more condescending than respectful. Aimed at a Native American or First Nations man because of who he is, it becomes an ethnic slur.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- J. D. Salinger wrote The Catcher in the Rye. en.wikipedia.org
- The novel was first published in 1951. core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com
- An elevator operator says the exact words quoted in the novel. en.wiktionary.org
- 5The principal part or the highest point of something.
- 6An offensive term used to address a Native American or First Nations man, now widely regarded as a slur.
"Where's your tribe, chief?" the heckler shouted, drawing furious looks.
His Lakota grandfather had been called chief by storekeepers his whole life, and he never stopped hearing the insult in it.
UsageDo not use it as a nickname for a Native American or First Nations man. As a real title, Chief Joseph, it is respectful.
Note
Here the casual address becomes a slur because of its target: it reduces a Native American or First Nations man to a stereotype. The same word said to a coworker can be harmless banter, but aimed at this listener it is offensive. Writers may put it in a character's mouth to show prejudice. As the title of an Indigenous leader who holds that office, as in Chief Joseph, it is respectful, as in the leader meaning.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- Chief Joseph was an Indigenous leader, making him an appropriate example of the leadership title. nps.gov
- 7
- 8The top part of a shield or escutcheon; specifically, a band formed by a horizontal line that cuts off the upper part of the field, usually the top third.
- 9Intimate and friendly; on close terms with someone.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
It comes from Middle English cheef, from Old French chef meaning "leader," which goes back through Vulgar Latin to Latin caput ("head"). The same root gives us captain and chieftain, and it is a doublet of head.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 8 facts
- Chief comes from Middle English cheef, a variant of chef. en.wiktionary.org
- The Middle English word came from Old French chef, a variant of chief. en.wiktionary.org
- The Old French word meant leader. en.wiktionary.org
- The Old French word derives through Vulgar Latin from Latin caput. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin caput means head. en.wiktionary.org
- Captain also derives from Latin caput. en.wiktionary.org
- Chieftain also derives from Latin caput. en.wiktionary.org
- Chief and head are etymological doublets through Proto-Indo-European. en.wiktionary.org