Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

chief

1 adjective
     
chief1 S2 W2
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 is our chief concern.
The chief reason for this is that people are 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
WORD FOCUS: important WORD FOCUS: important
similar words: main, key, chief, principal, leading, vital, crucial, essential, significant
not important: unimportant, trivial, minor, irrelevant, insignificant

➔ See also important
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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