| / English Dictionary |
CHIEF
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A person who exercises control over workers
Example:
if you want to leave early you have to ask the foreman
Synonyms:
boss; chief; foreman; gaffer; honcho
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("chief" is a kind of...):
supervisor (one who supervises or has charge and direction of)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "chief"):
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)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A person who is in charge
Example:
the head of the whole operation
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("chief" is a kind of...):
leader (a person who rules or guides or inspires others)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "chief"):
secretary (a person who is head of an administrative department of government)
head of household (the head of a household or family or tribe)
grand dragon (a high ranking person in the Ku Klux Klan)
general manager (the highest ranking manager)
general; superior general (the head of a religious order or congregation)
don; father (the head of an organized crime family)
department head (the head of a department)
capo (the head of a branch of an organized crime syndicate)
administrator; decision maker (someone who administers a business)
administrator; executive (someone who manages a government agency or department)
Sense 3
Meaning:
The head of a tribe or clan
Synonyms:
chief; chieftain; headman; tribal chief
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("chief" is a kind of...):
leader (a person who rules or guides or inspires others)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "chief"):
Indian chief; Indian chieftain (the leader of a group of Native Americans)
pendragon (the supreme war chief of the ancient Britons)
Instance hyponyms:
Glendower; Owen Glendower (Welsh chieftain who led a revolt against Henry IV's rule in Wales (1359-1416))
Hrolf; Rolf; Rollo (Norse chieftain who became the first duke of Normandy (860-931))
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Most important element
Example:
a master switch
Synonyms:
chief; main; master; primary; principal
Classified under:
Similar:
important; of import (of great significance or value)
Context examples:
The cub knew only that the sniff was strange, a something unclassified, therefore unknown and terrible—for the unknown was one of the chief elements that went into the making of fear.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
I began to think he would get on, in spite of all the many orders of chief waiters in England.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
Claire Johnson, the chief executive of Hydrogen Mobility Australia, an industry association, says the pioneering research could forever change the transport sector.
(Cars Powered by New Fuel Type Tested in Australia, VOA)
Over time, colonies have become even more susceptible, and viruses became among the chief threats to the important pollinators for crops on which people rely.
(Mushroom Extract Could Help Save Bees from Virus, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
If I am the chief of sinners, I am the chief of sufferers also.
(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
I called at Allan Brothers’, the chief land agents in the village, and found that it was from this firm that the villa had been rented.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Then, when we had eaten our pork and each had a good stiff glass of brandy grog, the three chiefs got together in a corner to discuss our prospects.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
I had sagacity enough to discover that the unnatural hideousness of my person was the chief object of horror with those who had formerly beheld me.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
Ere the pirate chief could repeat it, however, John's iron grip fell upon his wrist, and he found that for once he was in the hands of a stronger man than himself.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
A chief rationale for peer review is that rarely is just one person, or one closely working group, able to spot every mistake or weakness in a complicated piece of work.
(Peer Review, NCI Thesaurus)
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