I. chief 1 S2 W2 /tʃiːf/ BrE AmE adjective
1 . [only before noun] highest in rank:
He was recently appointed chief economist at the Bank of Scotland.
the government’s chief medical officer
2 . most important SYN main ⇨ chiefly :
One of the chief causes of crime today is drugs.
Safety is our chief concern.
The chief reason for this is that people are living longer.
his chief rival for the job
the prosecution’s chief witness
She had many reasons for taking the money, but chief among them was revenge.
3 . chief cook and bottle washer someone who does a lot of small jobs to make sure that an event is successful – used humorously
II. chief 2 W3 BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: 'head, chief' , from Latin caput 'head' ]
1 . SOMEBODY IN CHARGE OF AN ORGANIZATION the most important person, or one of the most important people, in a company or organization – used especially in job titles and in news reports
police/army/fire etc chief
Los Angeles Police Chief Willie L. Williams
chief of
the British Chief of Defence Staff
Most health chiefs believe the reforms have gone too far.
industry chiefs
commander-in-chief/editor-in-chief etc (=used in job titles for people with the highest rank)
They offered him the position of editor-in-chief.
2 . RULER OF TRIBE the ruler of a tribe:
the Zulu leader, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Native American tribal chiefs
3 . too many chiefs and not enough Indians British English used to say there are too many people saying how something should be done and not enough people doing it
4 . great white chief British English old-fashioned the person in charge of a group of people, company, organization etc – used humorously