chief

chief¹ W2S2 [tʃi:f] adj

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

= ↑main

→↑chiefly

▪ One of the chief causes of crime today is drugs.

▪ Safety has been, and always will be, our chief concern .

▪ The chief reason for this was that people were 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

chief ²

chief² W3 n

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

1¦(somebody in charge of an organization)¦

2¦(ruler of tribe)¦

3 too many chiefs and not enough Indians

4 great white chief

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[Date: 1200-1300; : 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

BrE used to say there are too many people saying how something should be done and not enough people doing it

4.) great white chief

BrE old-fashioned the person in charge of a group of people, company, organization etc - used humorously