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

Edwards parted ways, earlier this year, with Bronwyn Lance, his chief of staff, and Ryan Dierker, his legislative director. —Danielle Battaglia, Charlotte Observer, 15 May 2025

Rahm Emanuel, Democrat The former Chicago mayor, congressman, ambassador to Japan and chief of staff to President Barack Obama has been looking for a reentry into Democratic politics. —Chicago Tribune, 13 May 2025

His chief of staff appeared on the paper’s masthead one day without any internal announcement. —Clare Malone, New Yorker, 12 May 2025

Associate Deputy Attorney General Paul Perkins has been assigned acting register of copyrights, and Blanche's deputy chief of staff Brian Nieves was appointed acting deputy librarian of Congress. —Scott MacFarlane, CBS News, 12 May 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