chief justice

noun

Synonyms of chief justicenext
: the presiding or principal judge of a court of justice

Examples of chief justice in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
This year the chief justice prevailed with different coalitions. — Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026 If the chief justice is in the minority, the most senior justice in the majority makes the opinion assignment. — The Conversation, 24 June 2026 But the chief justice also pointedly carved out a possible exemption for members of the Federal Reserve from being fired by a president. — Dan Mangan, CNBC, 29 June 2026 Warren Burger, chief justice of the United States and the chancellor of the Smithsonian, made short work of introducing the president. — Robert Pearlman, ArsTechnica, 1 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for chief justice

Word History

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of chief justice was in 1534

Rhymes for chief justice

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Browse Nearby Words

chief hare
chief justice
chiefless
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Cite this Entry

“Chief justice.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chief%20justice. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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Kids Definition

chief justice

noun
: the presiding or principal judge of a court of justice

Legal Definition

chief justice

noun
: a chief judge of a usually higher level court
specifically, often capitalized : the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
chief justiceship noun

More from Merriam-Webster on chief justice

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for chief justice

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about chief justice

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