in chief
adj/ɪn t͡ʃiːf/
1
After a noun Executive, the highest in command.
2
Humorous, After a noun The chief example; the worst offender.
- No, it can't be Bill who gets assigned to this task. That dude is the slacker in chief around here.
3
Government, Heraldry, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Monarchy, Nobility, Politics Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see in, chief. In the chief of the escutcheon.
- Erm. a fesse betw. two demi lions in chief and three mascles in base gu.1844, John Burke, Bernard Burke, Encyclopædia of Heraldry, Or General Armory of England, Scotland and Ireland, page 375:
- Arg. a saltire betw. a cross-gate in chief and in base and a crescent in each flank gu. / HEGENS, Scotland. Arg. a saltire engr. betw. a mullet in chief two crescents in flanks and a cross crosslet fitchy in base gu.1874, John Woody Papworth, An Alphabetical Dictionary of Coats of Arms Belonging to Families in Great Britain and Ireland: Forming an Extensive Ordinary of British Armorials : Upon an Entirely New Plan ..., page 1070:
- Derived terms
- colonel-in-chief, commander in chief, editor in chief
- Related terms
- chief of staff