chief justice

noun

: 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.
The 73-year-old was Nepal's first female chief justice — and is now its first female prime minister. Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 20 Sep. 2025 Jonathan Dienst Jonathan Dienst is chief justice contributor for NBC News and chief investigative reporter for WNBC-TV in New York. Tom Winter, NBC news, 18 Sep. 2025 Born in the Morang district of eastern Nepal, Karki built a legal career culminating in her historic appointment as Nepal’s first female chief justice, in 2016. Sugam Pokharel, CNN Money, 12 Sep. 2025 But Rehnquist died suddenly about 6-1/2 weeks later, and Bush instead nominated Roberts to become chief justice. Jan Wolfe, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025 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

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Cite this Entry

“Chief justice.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chief%20justice. Accessed 22 Sep. 2025.

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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