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

Since the attack, the defense minister, the military chief of staff, and the directors of military intelligence, the Mossad and the Shin Bet, have all either resigned, been ousted, or reached the end of their terms. — Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2026

Kyrylo Budanov, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, said representatives of Ukraine’s European partners, from France, Germany and the United Kingdom, were also in Kyiv. — Samya Kullab, Fortune, 6 Sep. 2026

In placing the Office of Communications and Strategic Planning department under the chief of staff, the plan would also demote the top officials over those departments down one pay grade. — Austin Horn, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2026

His wife, Nina Day, is part of that circle, as is his coaching staff, general manager Mark Pantoni, strength coach Mickey Marotti and chief of staff Quinn Tempel. — Cameron Teague Robinson, New York Times, 4 Sep. 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