staff sergeant

noun

: a noncommissioned officer ranking in the army above a sergeant and below a platoon sergeant or sergeant first class, in the air force above a sergeant and below a technical sergeant, and in the marine corps above a sergeant and below a gunnery sergeant

Examples of staff sergeant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The second target, staff sergeant Andrew Wolfe, 24, remains in a critical condition. —Associate News Editor, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Nov. 2025

Rettenberger served 10 more years in the Marine Corps, retiring in 2014 as a staff sergeant. —Alexandra Rockey Fleming, PEOPLE, 11 Nov. 2025

Chen, a staff sergeant who served in the Armored Corps, had been stationed at the Gaza border on October 7. —Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 4 Nov. 2025

In this early starring role, Farrell played a young American lieutenant in a Nazi POW camp who has to defend a Black soldier accused of killing a racist staff sergeant. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1920, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for staff sergeant

• argent

Kids Definition

staff sergeant

noun

: a military enlisted person with a rank just below that of platoon sergeant in the army, below that of gunnery sergeant in the marines, and below that of technical sergeant in the air force