chief /chēf/

1. Head
2. Principal, highest, first
3. Outstanding, important (with compar chiefˈer, superl chiefˈest)
4. Intimate (Scot)

Chiefly

1. A head or principal person
2. A leader
3. The principal part or top of anything
4. The greater part
5. The upper part of the field cut off by a horizontal line, generally occupying the upper third of the area of the shield (heraldry)

chiefˈdom or chiefˈship noun

1. The state of being chief
2. Sovereignty

chiefˈery or chiefˈry (Spenser chevˈerye) noun

1. An Irish chieftaincy
2. The dues paid to a chief or the supreme lord
3. A chief's lands

chiefˈess noun

A female chief

chiefˈless adjective

Without a chief or leader

chiefˈling noun

chiefˈly adverb

1. In the first place
2. Principally
3. For the most part

chiefˈtain noun

1. (also fem chiefˈtainess) the head of a clan
2. A leader or commander

chiefˈtaincy noun

chiefˈtainry noun

chiefˈtainship noun

chief-barˈon noun

The President of the Court of Exchequer

Chief Constable noun

(in UK) an officer commanding the police force in an administrative area

chief executive noun

The senior director of a business organization

chief justice see under justice

chief petty officer noun

A non-commissioned officer in the navy above petty officer in rank

chief technician noun

A non-commissioned officer in the RAF below flight sergeant in rank

chief of staff (military)

1. A senior staff officer
2. (with cap) the senior officer of each of the armed forces (in the USA of the army and air force)

in chief

1. Borne in the upper part of the shield (heraldry)
2. (of a tenure) held directly from the sovereign
3. Most importantly (-in-chief combining form denoting at the head, first in rank, as in commander-in-chief)

• unframed
• unfranchised
• unfranked
• unfraught
• unfraughted
• unfraughting
• unfraughts
• unfree
• unfreed
• unfreeman
• unfreemen
• unfreeze
• unfreezes
• unfreezing
• unfrequent
• unfrequented
• unfrequentedness
• unfrequently
• unfretted
• unfriend
• unfriended
• unfriendedness
• unfriendednesses
• unfriending
• unfriendlily