CHIEF | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of chief in English chiefadjective [ before noun ] uk /tʃiːf/ us /tʃiːf/

chief adjective [before noun] (MOST IMPORTANT)

Add to word list Add to word list B2 most important or main: The chief problem we have in the area now is the spread of disease. The weather was our chief reason for coming here.

• My chief concern is to prevent any spread of the disease.
• Coffee and rice are the country's chief exports.
• Cars are the chief reason for the city's pollution levels.
• You must try to relax and not to worry - that's the chief thing.
• The chief suspect for the robbery is a Caucasian male.

Very important or urgent

• all-important
• at all costs idiom
• be a matter of life and/or death idiom
• cardinally
• co-principal
• last but not least idiom
• leading
• life-altering
• life-and-death
• life-changing
• overriding
• prestigiously
• primacy
• primary
• prime
• principally
• tectonic
• vitally
• weightily
• weighty

See more results »

chief adjective [before noun] (PERSON IN CHARGE)

B2 highest in rank: the chief fire officer/accountant

• The new police chief has really made his presence felt.
• The chief of police said that he was committed to wiping out vice in the city.
• He was a Zulu chief.
• They had to consult with their chiefs.

Important people and describing important people

• actor
• August
• augustly
• baron
• be the cat's whiskers idiom
• doyen
• doyenne
• FLOTUS
• get over something/someone phrasal verb
• get over yourself! idiom
• grandee
• guest of honour
• mogul
• moment
• movers and shakers
• MVP
• nabob
• nibs
• non-state actor
• the grand old man of something idiom

See more results » chiefnoun [ C ] uk /tʃiːf/ us /tʃiːf/ B2 the person in charge of a group or organization, or the ruler of a tribe: a police chief A new chief of the security forces has just been appointed. [ as form of address ] UK humorous Can you sign this form for me, chief? People in charge of or controlling other people

• acephalous
• administrator
• anti-management
• authority
• bureaucrat
• counter-power
• dean
• deputy
• dominatrix
• frontman
• movers and shakers
• multi-headed
• officer
• officialdom
• on high idiom
• tsar
• vice presidency
• vice president
• vicegerency
• vicegerent

See more results »

Idiom

too many chiefs and not enough Indians (Definition of chief from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

chief | American Dictionary

chiefadjective [ not gradable ] us /tʃif/

chief adjective [not gradable] (MOST IMPORTANT)

Add to word list Add to word list most important: Their chief objection to the appointment was that she had no judicial experience.

chief adjective [not gradable] (PERSON IN CHARGE)

highest in position or power: the chief economist/engineer/nurse He is chairman and chief executive of the company. chiefnoun [ C ] us /tʃif/

chief noun [C] (PERSON IN CHARGE)

the person in charge of a group or organization, or the ruler of a tribe (= a group of families): the chief of police (Definition of chief from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

chief | Business English

chiefadjective uk /tʃiːf/ us Add to word list Add to word list biggest or most important; main: Our chief concern right now is getting all these goods out onto the shelves. Coffee and rice are the country's chief exports. highest in rank: the chief accountant/security officer chiefnoun [ C ] uk /tʃiːf/ us a person who is in charge of a group or organization: a police/fire chief the chief of police (Definition of chief from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of chief

chief Though chiefs and chieftaincy are considered traditional artefacts of society, they require the invigorating authorisation and recognition of the state to operate with validity. From the Cambridge English Corpus Since 1979, there have been no female chiefs. From the Cambridge English Corpus As many respondents articulated, chiefs only have power if they are with the people. From the Cambridge English Corpus Beginning in the early 1990s, chiefs began to allow their communities to ' elect ' izinduna and traditional councillors. From the Cambridge English Corpus Rather than resist the implementation of new rules and practices, many chiefs have attempted to recast themselves as the ' authentic representatives ' of local communities. From the Cambridge English Corpus In addition, there are many examples where the elected councillor serves as part of the chief's isigungu as well. From the Cambridge English Corpus Like elected village chiefs, the currently nominated mayors find themselves in an ambiguous situation. From the Cambridge English Corpus Alternatively the resident sends a representative, accompanied by the deputy chiefs of the same seven villages, to investigate and resolve the case. From the Cambridge English Corpus Most of the assistant investigative squad chiefs served concurrently as guard battalion chiefs. From the Cambridge English Corpus Neither the ' urban politicians ', the ' rural farmers ', nor the ' traditional chiefs ' were homogeneous groups, as a wide range of recent studies have sought to show. From the Cambridge English Corpus According to this argument, chiefs who accepted bribes were guilty of violating custom. From the Cambridge English Corpus They and the major chiefs conducted sowing and first fruit rituals. From the Cambridge English Corpus Contrast this with the following estimated numbers of chiefs (no names) which are much higher. From the Cambridge English Corpus In normal parlance, chiefs who are forced to abdicate are destooled, not de-skinned. From the Cambridge English Corpus In the villages, however, the regime run by these administrators and chiefs appeared neglectful, capriciously oppressive and deeply corrupt. From the Cambridge English Corpus See all examples of chief These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with chief

chief

These are words often used in combination with chief.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

acting chiefIts acting chief executive said as much on the radio recently. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0   assistant chiefDuring that period he will hold the rank of assistant chief constable but continue to enjoy his former conditions of service as a chief constable. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0   battalion chiefWithin each division operate four to seven battalions, led by a battalion chief and typically consisting of 180-200 firefighters and officers. From Wikipedia This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.   These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. See all collocations with chief What is the pronunciation of chief?

Translations of chief

in Chinese (Traditional) 最重要的, 首要的, 最主要的… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 最重要的, 首要的, 最主要的… See more in Spanish principal, jefe, jefa… See more in Portuguese principal, chefe, principal [masculine-feminine]… See more in Marathi in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Tamil in Hindi in Gujarati in Danish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Urdu in Ukrainian in Telugu in Bengali in Czech in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Korean in Italian मुख्य, प्रमुख… See more 主な, 最も重要な, （グループや組織の）長… See more başlıca, en önemli, şef… See more principal/-ale, en chef, chef [masculine]… See more principal, cap… See more belangrijkst, leider… See more மிக முக்கியமான அல்லது முக்கிய, தரவரிசையில் மிக உயர்ந்தது, ஒரு குழு அல்லது அமைப்பின் பொறுப்பான நபர்… See more मुख्य, रैंक में सबसे ऊपर, प्रमुख… See more મુખ્ય, ક્રમની ટોચ, જૂથ અથવા સંસ્થાનો હવાલો… See more hoved-, høvding, leder… See more huvud-, viktigast, hövding… See more utama, ketua… See more Haupt-…, der Chef… See more hoved-, viktigst, sjef-… See more اعلیٰ, سب سے بڑا, اہم… See more найголовніший, основний, вождь… See more అతి ముఖ్యమైన లేదా ప్రధానమైన, ప్రధాన/అత్యున్నత హోదా కలిగిన, ప్రధాన అధికారి… See more সর্বাধিক গুরুত্বপূর্ণ/মূখ্য, সর্বোচ্চ পদ, চীফ… See more hlavní, šéf, hlava… See more utama, kepala… See more สำคัญที่สุด, หัวหน้า… See more chủ yếu, thủ lĩnh… See more główny, wódz, szef/owa… See more 주된, 최고의, 조직의 장… See more maggiore, primo, più elevato… See more Need a translator?

Get a quick, free translation!

Translator tool

Browse

chicory chide chided chiding chief chief academic officer chief accounting officer chief administrative officer chief analytics officer {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of chief

• chief executive officer
• chief justice
• commander in chief
• chief judge
• chief whip
• crew chief
• fire chief

See all meanings

Word of the Day

agony aunt

UK /ˈæɡ.ə.ni ˌɑːnt/ US /ˈæɡ.ə.ni ˌænt/

a person, usually a woman, who gives advice to people with personal problems, especially in a regular magazine or newspaper article

About this

Blog

All hands on deck! (Nautical Idioms, Part 2)

December 17, 2025 Read More

New Words

quiet cracking December 22, 2025 More new words has been added to list To top AI Assistant Contents EnglishAmericanBusinessExamplesCollocationsTranslations AI Assistant {{#displayLoginPopup}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Sign up for free and get access to exclusive content: Free word lists and quizzes from Cambridge Tools to create your own word lists and quizzes Word lists shared by our community of dictionary fans Sign up now or Log in Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Create word lists and quizzes for free Sign up now or Log in {{/displayLoginPopup}} {{#displayClassicSurvey}} {{/displayClassicSurvey}}

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
• My profile
• +Plus help
• Log out

AI Assistant Dictionary Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English Translations Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English English–Danish Danish–English English–Dutch Dutch–English English–French French–English English–German German–English English–Indonesian Indonesian–English English–Italian Italian–English English–Japanese Japanese–English English–Norwegian Norwegian–English English–Polish Polish–English English–Portuguese Portuguese–English English–Spanish Spanish–English English–Swedish Swedish–English Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese Translate Grammar Thesaurus Pronunciation Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Games {{userName}}

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
• My profile
• +Plus help
• Log out

Log in / Sign up English (UK) Change English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Follow us Choose a dictionary

• Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
• Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
• Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
• Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
• Translation Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries
  • English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
  • English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
  • English–Danish Danish–English
  • English–Dutch Dutch–English
  • English–French French–English
  • English–German German–English
  • English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
  • English–Italian Italian–English
  • English–Japanese Japanese–English
  • English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
  • English–Polish Polish–English
  • English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
  • English–Spanish Spanish–English
  • English–Swedish Swedish–English
  Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese
• Dictionary +Plus Word Lists

Choose your language English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Contents

• English   
  • Adjective 
    • chief (MOST IMPORTANT)
    • chief (PERSON IN CHARGE)
  Noun
• American   
  • Adjective 
    • chief (MOST IMPORTANT)
    • chief (PERSON IN CHARGE)
  • Noun 
    • chief (PERSON IN CHARGE)
• Business   AdjectiveNoun
• Examples
• Collocations

• Translations
• Grammar
• All translations

My word lists

To add chief to a word list please sign up or log in.

Sign up or Log in My word lists

Add chief to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{name}} More Go to your word lists {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} Tell us about this example sentence: The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}}