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

My brother was chief of staff — there was a lot of confluence at the same time. — Lane Brown, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2026

Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles and communications adviser Margo Martin paced the porch behind the two men. — Dan Adler, Vanity Fair, 22 Sep. 2026

Saathoff is chief of staff to state Assemblymember Joe Patterson, R-Rocklin, and is a foster parent. — Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 22 Sep. 2026

Christopher Hudtwalcker, Levine Cava’s chief of staff, headed up the marketing talks and told commissioners that the administration didn’t want to miss the financial opportunity presented by GTA’s return. — Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 22 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