chief executive

noun

: a principal executive: such as
a
: the president of a republic
b
: the governor of a state
c
: ceo

Examples of chief executive in a Sentence

The President is the chief executive of the U.S.
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.
In eight years as the president and chief executive officer of Systematics, Steuri helped grow its annual revenue from $160 million to almost $1 billion. — Dylan Sherman, Arkansas Online, 1 Sep. 2026 The company’s mysterious founder and chief executive officer Xu Yangtian remained largely out of the spotlight at the HKEX bell-ringing ceremony, allowing his senior executives to speak on his behalf. — Denni Hu, Footwear News, 1 Sep. 2026 The next chief executive will need to accelerate growth, improve deposit mobilization and returns, and rebuild confidence around governance and senior-management stability, global brokerage Nomura said in a report on Sunday. — Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 31 Aug. 2026 The trailer, released earlier in August, has generated buzz in media business circles for the appearance of Jeff Zucker, former NBCUniversal chief executive, who appears as himself in a small role as a ratings-hungry network executive. — Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for chief executive

Word History

First Known Use

1793, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of chief executive was in 1793

Rhymes for chief executive

See All Rhymes for chief executive

Browse Nearby Words

chiefess
chief executive
chief executive officer
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Chief executive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chief%20executive. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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Kids Definition

chief executive

noun
: a principal executive: as
a
: the president of a republic
b
: the governor of a state
c
: ceo
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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