Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - chief

~1 adj 1 most important; main  (One of the chief causes of crime today is drugs. | the prosecution's chief witness)  (- see also chiefly) 2 highest in rank  (the chief accountant | the chief political correspondent of the Washington Post) 3 chief cook and bottle washer humorous someone in charge of an event, especially someone who must do a lot of small unimportant jobs to make sure it is a success  ("Is there any more wine?" "Ask my husband, he's chief cook and bottle washer today!") ~2 n 1 »RULER OF TRIBE« a ruler of a tribe  (an American Indian tribal chief) 2 »SB IN CHARGE OF AN ORGANIZATION« the most important person in a company or organization  (the chief of Austria's army intelligence | Industry chiefs yesterday demanded tough measures against inflation.) 3 the chief informal the person in charge of the company or organization you work for  (The chief wants to see you right away.) 4 big/great white chief humorous the person in charge of a group of people, company, organization etc 5 too many chiefs and not enough Indians used to say there are too many people saying how something should be done and not enough people doing it 6 »MAN« BrE old-fashioned used to speak in a friendly way to a man you think is more important that you