chief of staff

noun phrase

1

: the ranking officer of a staff in the armed forces serving as principal adviser to a commander

2

: the ranking officer of the army or air force and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Examples of chief of staff in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The comments come days after Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, resigned following an anti-corruption raid on his home, a development that has fueled questions about the government’s cohesion. —Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025

So has the president’s chief of staff, while a former business partner of Zelenskyy appears to have fled the country. —Bret Stephens, Mercury News, 4 Dec. 2025

When Williamson went to work for Newsom as chief of staff in late 2022, Campbell’s company served as a conduit for the payments instead of hers, the plea agreement said. —Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 4 Dec. 2025

After five months as chief of staff, the club announced in early October her promotion to club president. —Julia Andersen, CNN Money, 3 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1862, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for chief of staff

• autograph
• biograph
• cenotaph
• chronograph
• epigraph
• epitaph
• hodograph
• holograph
• hydrograph
• lithograph
• micrograph
• monograph

Kids Definition

chief of staff

1

: the ranking officer of a staff in the armed forces who advises a commander

2

: the ranking officer of the army or air force