chef
chef Lexical Profile
chef Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A professional cook, typically the chief cook in a restaurant or hotel who plans menus, oversees kitchen staff, and directs the preparation of food.
"The head chef designed a seasonal tasting menu featuring locally sourced ingredients."
• verb
To work as a professional chef or prepare food in the manner of a chef (informal).
"She spent three years cheffing at a busy bistro in Paris before opening her own bakery."
Word Nuance & Usage
While often used interchangeably with 'cook' in everyday speech, 'chef' strictly denotes a trained culinary professional who manages a kitchen or leads a specific station, whereas 'cook' is a broader term for anyone who prepares food.
• Rhymes for chef
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the early 19th century from French 'chef', a shortening of 'chef de cuisine' (literally 'head of the kitchen'). The French word derives from Old French 'chief', from Vulgar Latin '*capum', and ultimately from Latin 'caput' ('head'), making it a doublet of the English word 'chief'.