chief
Plural: chiefs
Noun
- The person who is highest in authority.
- a person who is in charge
- a person who exercises control over workers
- the head of a tribe or clan
- The leader or head of a tribe, organisation, business unit, or other group.
- Headship, the status of being a chief or leader.
- 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.
- An informal term of address.
- An informal term of address.
- An informal term of address for a Native American or First Nations man.
Adjective Satellite
- most important element
- "the chief aim of living"
Adj
- Primary; principal.
- Intimate, friendly.
Verb
- To smoke cannabis.
Adjective
- Highest in authority or rank; principal.
Examples
- All firefighters report to the fire chief.
- Bob is our troubleshooter in chief.
- Negligence was the chief cause of the disaster.
- The CHIEF of the word game club always had the best Scrabble strategy.
- The CHIEF strategy in Scrabble is to always aim for bonus squares.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English cheef, chef, from Old French chef, chief (“leader”), from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput (“head”) (from which also captain, chieftain), from Proto-Italic *kaput, from Proto-Indo-European *káput.
Doublet of cape (“point of land”), capo, caput, and chef through Latin (possibly also related to cape (“sleeveless garment”) and cap (“head covering”) from Latin cappa); doublet of head and Howth through Proto-Indo-European.
Synonyms
boss, chieftain, foreman, gaffer, head, headman, honcho, main, master, primary, principal, top dog, tribal chief
Scrabble Score: 13
chief: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordchief: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
chief: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary