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

Zelensky adviser Dmytro Lytvyn told reporters that procedures are underway to install Budanov as the president’s chief of staff. —Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 2 Jan. 2026

Halliburton, the chief of staff, describes it as a natural outflow of that seeker-sensitive ethos. —Sam Kestenbaum, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2026

Zelensky had dismissed his previous chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, after anti-corruption officials began investigating alleged graft in the energy sector. —Illia Novikov, Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2026

Dean Fuleihan and Elle Bisgaard-Church were the first appointments to be announced as Mamdani's first deputy mayor and chief of staff, respectively. —CBS News, 1 Jan. 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