chief
The leader or head of a tribe, organisation, business unit, or other group.
Noun 4 meanings
The leader or head of a tribe, organisation, business unit, or other group.
“All firefighters report to the fire chief.”
Headship, the status of being a chief or leader.
“Bob is our troubleshooter in chief.”
The top part of a shield or escutcheon; more specifically, an ordinary consisting of the upper part of the field cut off by a horizontal line, generally occupying the top third.
The principal part or top of anything.
Adjective 2 meanings
Primary; principal.
“Negligence was the chief cause of the disaster.”
Intimate, friendly.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English chef, borrowed from Old French chief, from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput, from Proto-Italic *kaput, from Proto-Indo-European *káput, from *kap-, possibly from *kap-, possibly borrowed from a substrate language.
Similar and opposite words
CHIEF at a glance
CHIEF has 5 letters and scores 13 points in Scrabble (C 3 + H 4 + I 1 + E 1 + F 4) and 13 in Words With Friends, before board bonuses. It ranks #769 by how often it appears in everyday English. It is valid in ENABLE, NWL2023, Collins/SOWPODS.
Rhymes with chief
All rhymesOne letter away
- THIEF11
- CHIEL10
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