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 Kilpatrick credits her sense of humor to her father, Bernard Kilpatrick, the former chief of staff to late Wayne County executive Edward McNamara, who was convicted in 2013 of a tax crime and served a 15-month sentence. Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 19 Mar. 2024 Paulson began his time at Activision Blizzard as chief of staff to CEO Bobby Kotick before moving on to lead the franchise finance team. Jennifer Maas, Variety, 18 Mar. 2024 Joining Trump in the challenge to the six counts were former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and lawyers Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Ray Stallings Smith and Robert Cheeley. Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 13 Mar. 2024 Among the 18 Trump allies charged in the case are Rudolph Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and lawyer for Trump, and Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff. Richard Fausset, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2024 The company, whose address is a UPS Store in Allied Gardens, began raising and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars at the same time Andrea Cardenas was elected to the Chula Vista council and her brother was appointed chief of staff to San Diego City Councilmember Stephen Whitburn. Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Mar. 2024 Marisa Alcaraz Deputy chief of staff to Councilmember Curren Price. Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024 Senate chief of staff Joshua Kredit makes $210,000 per year. The Arizona Republic, 25 Feb. 2024 Britt served as Shelby's chief of staff and as president of the Business Council of Alabama. Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 8 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chief of staff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1862, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of chief of staff was in 1862

Dictionary Entries Near chief of staff

Cite this Entry

“Chief of staff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chief%20of%20staff. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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