# chief

Pronunciation: say "CHEEF" /t͡ʃiːf/

## Adjective

1. First in importance or rank; principal.
   - Simple: Most important, and coming before all the rest.
   - _The committee's chief objective was reducing waste across all departments._
   - _His chief rival withdrew from the race at the last minute._

## Noun

2. The person who leads a tribe, organization, business unit, or other group.
   - Simple: The person who leads a group, team, or organization.
   - _The police chief addressed reporters outside the courthouse._
   - _Department chiefs met weekly to coordinate the merger._
3. Headship, the status of being leader, used only in the phrase 'in chief' after a title or role.
   - Simple: The state of being the top leader. It is only used in the words "in chief" after a job name.
   - _After the merger, she was named editor in chief of both magazines._
   - _My sister appoints herself worrier in chief before every family trip._
4. An informal way to address someone directly, often jokingly or with light irony.
   - Simple: A friendly or joking way to call someone you are talking to.
   - _Easy there, chief, nobody's blaming you for the mistake._
   - _You sure about that, chief? The map says otherwise._
6. An offensive term used to address a Native American or First Nations man, now widely regarded as a slur.
   - Simple: A rude and offensive way to call a Native American or First Nations man.
   - _"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._

## Verb

7. To smoke cannabis. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To smoke marijuana.
   - _The roommates chief together most evenings to unwind._
   - _He wanted to chief before heading out for the night._

## Noun

5. The principal part or the highest point of something. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: The main or top part of something.

## Other meanings

- (noun) The 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.
- (adjective) Intimate and friendly; on close terms with someone.

## 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.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/chief (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).