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

Griswold was on her second deputy secretary, third chief legal counsel and fourth chief of staff. — Shaun Boyd, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026

Sean McCluskie, Becerra’s former chief of staff; Dana Williamson, a Democratic advisor and former chief of staff to Newsom; and lobbyist Greg Campbell have all pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges and are awaiting sentencing. — Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026

Khamenei appointed Ali Abdollahi as chief of staff of the armed forces and Kioumars Heydari as his deputy. — Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 10 Aug. 2026

The Herald requested comment from the mayor, the chief of staff and the city spokesperson but did not receive a response. — Verónica Egui Brito, Miami Herald, 10 Aug. 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