# chief

> English word · Noun · IPA /t͡ʃiːf/ · frequency rank #804

## Definitions
1. The leader or head of a tribe, organisation, business unit, or other group.
2. Headship, the status of being a chief or leader.
3. The top part of a shield or escutcheon; more specifically, an ordinary consisting of the upper part of the field cut off by a horizontal line, generally occupying the top third.
4. The principal part or top of anything.
5. An informal term of address.
6. An informal term of address.

## Etymology
From Middle English cheef, chef, from Old French chef, chief (“leader”), from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput (“head”) (from which also captain, chieftain), from Proto-Italic *kaput, from Proto-Indo-European *káput.
Doublet of cape (“point of land”), capo, caput, and chef through Latin (possibly also related to cape (“sleeveless garment”) and cap (“head covering”) from Latin cappa); doublet of head and Howth through Proto-Indo-European.

## Easily confused with
- **CIF** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chief-vs-cif)
- **chip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chief-vs-chip)
- **chin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chief-vs-chin)
- **chit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chief-vs-chit)
- **Chiu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chief-vs-chiu)
- **child** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chief-vs-child)
- **China** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chief-vs-china)
- **chips** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chief-vs-chips)
- **cried** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chief-vs-cried)
- **chill** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chief-vs-chill)
- **cliff** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chief-vs-cliff)
- **Chile** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chief-vs-chile)
- **cries** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chief-vs-cries)
- **chili** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chief-vs-chili)
- **ching** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chief-vs-ching)
- **chime** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chief-vs-chime)
- **chino** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chief-vs-chino)
- **chimp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chief-vs-chimp)
- **chirp** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chief-vs-chirp)
- **chins** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chief-vs-chins)

## Common misspellings (7)
`cchief`, `cheif`, `chhief`, `chieff`, `chife`, `cihef`, `hcief`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/chief