plural chefs
1
: a skilled professional cook
a trained chef
specifically
: one who is in charge of a professional kitchen
I wrote to the chef of an acclaimed New American restaurant on the Upper East Side about my food experiences. He invited me to spend a few days in the kitchen on a trial basis. —
Adam Shatz
Adam Shatz 2
: cook
chef
intransitive verb
Examples of chef in a Sentence
The hotel's chef trained at the finest culinary institutes in Europe.
He's the head chef at a five-star restaurant.
a celebrity chef with her own TV show
My friend is an excellent chef.
Recent Examples on the Web
One chef smiled and said a local farmer had figured out how to grow some, just for Eriro.
—Jeff Chu, Travel + Leisure, 13 Apr. 2025
In a 2015 taste test of hot sauces (from Tapatío to habanero) for this paper with former food editor Amy Scattergood, Gold, Harris and chef judges Roy Choi and Alvin Cailan, Lao Gan Ma’s chili crisp was the winner.
—Laurie Ochoa, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2025
Like many creators, chefs always see things to improve upon, to tweak, to revise.
—Kristin L. Wolfe, Forbes.com, 12 Apr. 2025
Maricel Gentile, cookbook author, chef, and owner of Maricel's Kitchen, says that almost all knives can show rust if they're not properly cared for.
—Halee Miller Van Ryswyk, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chef
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.
Jeff Chu, Travel + Leisure, 13 Apr. 2025
In a 2015 taste test of hot sauces (from Tapatío to habanero) for this paper with former food editor Amy Scattergood, Gold, Harris and chef judges Roy Choi and Alvin Cailan, Lao Gan Ma’s chili crisp was the winner.
—Laurie Ochoa, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2025
Like many creators, chefs always see things to improve upon, to tweak, to revise.
—Kristin L. Wolfe, Forbes.com, 12 Apr. 2025
Maricel Gentile, cookbook author, chef, and owner of Maricel's Kitchen, says that almost all knives can show rust if they're not properly cared for.
—Halee Miller Van Ryswyk, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chef
Cite this Entry
“Chef.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chef. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
chef
noun1
: a chief cook
2
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share