Is this your crossword clue?
"chief" is also used as a crossword clue. If that's what you saw, the answer is often main (4 letters).
Definitions
Leader; most important person
Word origin
Inherited from Middle English chef, borrowed from Old French chief, from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput, from Proto-Italic *kaput, from Proto-Indo-European *káput, from *kap-.
Used in a sentence
“My father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa, was a chief by both blood and custom.”
“All firefighters report to the fire chief.”
“Bob is our troubleshooter in chief.”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer2 curated clues
01“Main leader”5 letters
02“Leader or main person”5 letters
Not quite right?
"Search similar patterns."
C____