chef
- 01 A2 Elementary
n.a professional cook who is in charge of a kitchen in a restaurant or hotel.
n.the head cook of a restaurant or other commercial establishment, typically responsible for menu design and staff management.
Simple“The chef came out of the kitchen to ask if we liked our meal.”
In context“After years of training in Paris, she was finally appointed as the executive chef of a Michelin-starred restaurant in London.”
PitfallHe is a good cooker. He is a good chef.A 'cooker' is a machine or appliance used for cooking; a person who cooks professionally is a 'chef'.
Synonymshead cookculinary artist - 02 B1 Intermediate
n.a person who cooks food, often used as a compliment for someone who is good at it.
n.a person who prepares food, often used loosely or honorifically for a skilled amateur cook.
Simple“My dad is the main chef in our house on Sunday mornings.”
In context“Even though he had no formal training, his friends considered him a master chef because of his complex spice blends.”
Synonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
n.someone who makes illegal drugs.
n.a person involved in the illicit manufacture of chemical drugs.
Simple“The police arrested the chef who was running the secret lab.”
In context“Underworld informants identified the local chef responsible for the recent surge in high-purity synthetic stimulants.”
Synonyms - 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to work as a professional cook.
v.to perform the duties of a professional chef; often used in the progressive form to describe a career path.
Simple“He has been cheffing at that Italian place for three years now.”
In context“She spent her twenties cheffing across Europe before returning home to open her own bistro.”
Synonyms - 05 C2 Proficiency
v.to attack someone with a knife.
v.to wound or kill someone by stabbing with a blade.
Simple“The lyrics of the song mentioned people getting cheffed in the street.”
In context“The witness claimed to have seen the suspect attempt to chef the victim during the altercation outside the club.”
UsageCommon in Multicultural London English (MLE).
Teacher's tipThis sense is highly specific to UK urban slang and should be avoided in general or formal contexts.
Unadapted borrowing from French chef (from the positions of chef d'office and chef de cuisine), from Old French chief (“head, leader”) (English chief), from Vulgar Latin capus (“head”) (from which also captain, chieftain), from Latin caput (“head”) (possibly related to English cap (“head covering”)). Doublet of cape, capo, caput, and chief through Latin, and head and Howth through Proto-Indo-European.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.