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

Preckwinkle’s former chief of staff who became the county’s top prosecutor — and Mayor Brandon Johnson. — A.d. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2026

The 53-year-old senator experienced numbness in his arm Saturday afternoon while at his son’s hockey game, according to Allison Herwitt, the senator’s chief of staff in a statement Sunday. — Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 3 Nov. 2026

Garcia was heavily criticized for dropping his re-election bid at the last minute, leaving his chief of staff Patty Garcia, no relation, as the only Democrat in the March primary. — CBS News, 3 Nov. 2026

Murphy began experiencing stroke symptoms on Saturday while at his son's hockey game, his chief of staff Allison Herwitt said in a statement Sunday. — Justin Papp, CNBC, 3 Nov. 2026

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