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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Exit polls indicate that Netanyahu’s bloc of supporters won about 51 seats in parliament, approximately the same as the bloc led by Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff. — Giovanna Dell'orto, Chicago Tribune, 28 Oct. 2026 Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff, earlier in the day had declared victory and said the preliminary result — which had his bloc slightly ahead — should give him the first right to try to form a government. — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 28 Oct. 2026 Netanyahu’s main challenger, former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, opposes Palestinian statehood and has pledged to destroy Hamas’ military wing. — Lauren Morganbesser, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2026 The polls also suggested that his main rival, former Israeli military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, is also short of securing a clear victory and would likely need to rely on the support of Israel’s Arab parties to oust Netanyahu. — Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 27 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for chief of staff

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

Rhymes for chief of staff

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Browse Nearby Words

chief of police
chief of staff
chief of state
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Cite this Entry

“Chief of staff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chief%20of%20staff. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

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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
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