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

Uthmeier, formerly the governor’s chief of staff, was appointed by DeSantis to be the state’s attorney general and is running to keep his seat this year. — Justin Garcia, Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 2026

Meese, Baker, [the deputy chief of staff Michael] Deaver and the few others who were granted access to the President were gravely concerned. — Bob Woodward, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026

Does anyone believe that a new chief of staff, with an untested relationship with Trump, would survive any longer than an Apprentice contestant? — Chris Whipple, Vanity Fair, 19 Oct. 2026

The new task force, whose first session was set to convene Monday, will be led by White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who recently completed a round of breast cancer treatment. — Elizabeth Cooney, STAT, 19 Oct. 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