chief

chief  (chf)

n.

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

2.

a. A chief petty officer.

b. Nautical The chief engineer of a ship.

3. Slang A boss.

4. Heraldry The upper section of a shield.

5. The most important or valuable part.

adj.

1. Highest in rank, authority, or office.

2. Most important or influential. See Usage Note at absolute.

adv. Archaic

Chiefly.

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[Middle English chef, from Old French, from Latin caput, head; see kaput- in Indo-European roots.]

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chiefdom n.

chiefship n.

Synonyms: chief, principal, main, leading¹, foremost, primary, prime
These adjectives refer to what is first in rank or in importance. Chief applies to a person of the highest authority: a chief magistrate.
Used figuratively, chief implies maximum importance or value: her chief joy.
Principal applies to someone or something of the first order in power or significance: their principal source of entertainment.
Main applies to what exceeds others in extent, size, or importance: the main building on the campus.
Leading suggests personal magnetism, a record of achievement, or capacity for influencing others: one of the leading physicians of the city.
Foremost emphasizes the sense of having forged ahead of others: the foremost research scientist of the day.
Primary stresses first in the sense of origin, sequence, or development: primary school.
It can also mean first in the sense of "fundamental": the primary function of this machine.
Prime applies to what is first in comparison with others and to what is of the best quality: a theory of prime significance; a prime Burgundy.

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chief

Noun

1. the head of a group or body of people

2. the head of a tribe

Adjective

1. most important: the chief suspects

2. highest in rank: the Chief Constable [Latin caput head]

Thesaurus

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"

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chief

noun 1. head, leader, director, manager, lord, boss (informal) captain, master, governor, commander, principal, superior, ruler, superintendent, chieftain, ringleader, baas S. African ariki N.Z. sherang Austral., N.Z. << OPPOSITE subordinate

adjective 2. 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 << OPPOSITE minor

Translations

chief [tʃiːf] n → jefe/a m/f

adj → principal, esp máximo (LAM);

Chief of Staff (esp MIL) → Jefe m del Estado mayor

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chief [tʃiːf] n → chef m

adj → principal(e);

Chief of Staff (Mil) → chef d'État-major

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chief [tʃiːf] n → Häuptling m;

(of organization, department) → Leiter(in) m(f), Chef(in) m(f)

adj → Haupt-, wichtigste(r, s)

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chief [tʃiːf] n → capo

adj → principale;

Chief of Staff (MIL) → Capo di Stato Maggiore

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chief

adj chief [tʃiːf]

greatest in importance etc the chief cause of disease. hoof رئيسي главен hlavní hoved- Haupt-... ο κύριος, ο πιο σημαντικός pea- مهمترین؛ عمده tärkein, pää- principal רָאשִי, עִיקָרִי मुख्य vrhovni, glavni fő utama aðal-; helstur principale 主要な 제1위의, 가장 중요한 svarbiausias galvenais utama belangrijkst hoved-, over-, viktigst główny principal principal главный hlavný glavni glavni huvud-, viktigast สำคัญที่สุด başlıca, en önemli 首要的 найголовніший, основний بڑا ، مرکزی chủ yếu 首要的

n

the head of a clan or tribe, or a department, business etc. opperhoof, owerste رئيس، زَعيم قَبيلَه ръководител šéf, hlava, vedoucí høvding; leder; chef der Chef αρχηγός, πρόεδρος pealik رئیس päällikkö chef ראש הַשֶבֵט प्रमुख glava, šef, poglavar főnök kepala æðstur, yfir- capo 長 (단체의) 장(長), 우두머리 vadas, vadovas vadonis; virsaitis; vadītājs; priekšnieks ketua leider overhode, sjef, leder wódz, szef chefe conducător вождь; глава; шеф šéf, hlava poglavar, vodja, šef poglavica hövding, chef, ledare หัวหน้า şef, reis, lider 首領 вождь; голова سردار ، سربراہ thủ lĩnh 首领

adv chiefly

mainly She became ill chiefly because she did not eat enough. hoofsaaklik بِصورَةٍ رَئيسيَّه предимно hlavně hovedsageligt; først og fremmest hauptsächlich κυρίως peamiselt بطور عمده؛ بیشتر pääasiallisesti surtout בְּעִיקָר प्रधानत- uglavnom, većinom főleg terutama aðallega, einkum principalmente 主として 주로, 대체로 svarbiausia galvenokārt terutamanya voornamelijk hovedsakelig, først og fremst głównie principalmente mai ales главным образом hlavne predvsem pre svega framför allt, huvudsakligen อย่างสำคัญ başlıca, esas olarak 主要地 головним чином خاص طور پر chủ yếu là 主要地

n chief eˈxecutive ˌofficer

(alsoCEO) the president of a large company. baas رئيس الشَّرِكَه бизн. президент výkonný ředitel administrerende direktør; adm. dir. der Geschäftsführer πρόεδρος εταιρείας director general peadirektor مدیر عامل président-directeur général מְנַהֵל सीईओ glavni izvršni direktor elnök-(vezér)igazgató direktur perusahaan besar direttore generale （大会社の）社長 최고 경영자 vyriausiasis pareigūnas/vadybininkas galvenais izpilddirektors ketua pegawai ekskutif hoofddirecteur administrerende direktør dyrektor naczelny президент компании výkonný riaditeľ generalni direktor; predsednik družbe predsednik verkställande direktör, vd ผู้บริหารสูงสุด baş yönetici 執行總裁 головний виконавчий директор منتظم اعلیٰ افسر chủ tịch một tập đoàn 执行总裁

n chieftain [-tən]

the head of a clan, tribe etc. aanvoerder, opperhoof زَعيمُ القَبيلَه главатар náčelník høvding der Häuptling αρχηγός (φυλής κτλ.) pealik رئیس قبیله؛ خانسالار päällikkö chef ראש הַשֶבֵט सरदार poglavica törzsfőnök kepala suku höfðingi capotribù, capobanda 族長 지도자, 족장 vadas vadonis; barvedis ketua suku kaum hoofdman høvding, leder wódz chefe căpetenie главарь, вождь náčelník, -čka poglavar poglavica hövding หัวหน้าเผ่า kabile reisi 族長；酋長 ватажок; отаман قبیلے کا سربراہ thủ lĩnh 族长；酋长