chief

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. chieftain, leader, president; captain, commander, general; superior, foreman, overseer; elder. See authority. —adj. principal, foremost, leading, supreme. See importance.

II

(Roget's IV) modif.

Syn. leading, main, foremost; see principal .

See Synonym Study at principal . n.

1. [The outstanding person or thing]

Syn. leader, head, principal, manager, boss, overseer, governor, president, foreman, proprietor, supervisor, superior, director, chair, chairman, ringleader, general, master, dictator, superintendent, ruler, captain, commander, big shot*, brass hat*, higher-up*, bigwig*, big wheel*, big cheese*; high muck-a-muck*, head honcho*, n?mero uno * (Spanish), prima donna*, triton among minnows*, the only pebble on the beach*, the biggest frog in the puddle*; see also administrator , leader 2 .

Ant. subordinate, underling, retainer.

2. [A chieftain]

Syn. ruler, prince, master, sachem, sagamore, emperor, duke, majesty, monarch, overlord, suzerain, lord, potentate, sovereign, chieftain, headman, elder, Maharaja, sahib, Rajah, boyar, effendi, emir, sheik, pasha; see also king 1 , ruler 1 .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

head, boss, leader, *top dog, *big cheese, president, director, supervisor, master, ringleader, captain, commander, *biggest toad in the puddle, honcho, *cock of the walk.

ANT.: subordinate, underling

II

a.

main, principal, leading, prime, greatest, biggest, supreme, paramount, ruling, cardinal.

ANT.: least, smallest

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I noun 1. One who is highest in rank or authority: boss, chieftain, director, head, headman, hierarch, leader, master. Slang: honcho. Idiom: cock of the walk. See OVER. 2. A professional politician who controls a party or political machine: boss, leader. See OVER. 3. Slang. Someone who directs and supervises workers: boss, director, foreman, foreperson, forewoman, head, manager, overseer, superintendent, supervisor, taskmaster, taskmistress. Informal: straw boss. See OVER. II adjective 1. Having or exercising authority: head, principal. See OVER. 2. Most important, influential, or significant: capital, cardinal, first, foremost, key, leading, main, major, number one, paramount, premier, primary, prime, principal, top. See IMPORTANT.