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.
Jonathan Dienst Jonathan Dienst is chief justice contributor for NBC News and chief investigative reporter for WNBC-TV in New York. Andrew Blankstein, NBC News, 2 Jan. 2025 Ten days at half-staff after the death of the vice president, the chief justice or a retired chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, or the speaker of the House of Representatives. Brandi D. Addison, Austin American-Statesman, 30 Dec. 2024 Kitchens, seeking his third term, is the senior presiding justice and next in line to become chief justice. Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2024 She was named the state's first woman chief justice in 2014. Noe Padilla, The Indianapolis Star, 6 Nov. 2024 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

Dictionary Entries Near chief justice

Cite this Entry

“Chief justice.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chief%20justice. Accessed 14 Jan. 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

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