Phrase guide

chief of staff

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Mid-Atlantic, US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The senior officer of any of several services of the armed forces of several nations.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: government, military, politics, war

Examples

  • Holonym: general staff

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: staff officer

2

noun

Meaning 2

The head of any of several political departments in several nations.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: government, politics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the senior officer of a service of the armed forces

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: military officer, officer

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

33 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: رئيس أركان الجيش — senior officer
  • Chinese Mandarin: 參謀長 /参谋长 (cānmóuzhǎng) — senior officer
  • Chinese Mandarin: 幕僚長 /幕僚长 (mùliáozhǎng) — senior officer
  • Danish: stabschef — senior officer
  • Dutch: stafchef — senior officer
  • Finnish: esikuntapäällikkö — senior officer
  • French: chef d’état-major — senior officer
  • German: Stabschef — senior officer
  • German: Stabschefin — senior officer
  • Hungarian: vezérkari főnök — senior officer
  • Japanese: 幕僚長 (bakuryōchō) — senior officer
  • Japanese: 参謀長 (sanbōchō) — senior officer
  • Korean: 참모장 (chammojang) — senior officer
  • Korean: 참모총장 (chammochongjang) — senior officer
  • Iranian Persian: رَئیسِ سِتاد — senior officer
  • Polish: szef sztabu — senior officer
  • Romanian: șef de stat major — senior officer
  • Russian: нача́льник шта́ба (načálʹnik štába) — senior officer
  • Russian: начшта́ба (načštába) — senior officer
  • Swedish: stabschef — senior officer
  • Vietnamese: tham mưu trưởng — senior officer
  • Chinese Mandarin: 參謀長 /参谋长 (cānmóuzhǎng) — head of political department
  • Chinese Mandarin: 幕僚長 /幕僚长 (mùliáozhǎng) — head of political department
  • Finnish: kansliapäällikkö — head of political department
  • French: chef de cabinet — head of political department
  • German: Stabschef — head of political department
  • German: Stabschefin — head of political department
  • Hungarian: kabinetfőnök — head of political department
  • Polish: szef kancelarii — head of political department
  • Russian: руководи́тель аппара́та (rukovodítelʹ apparáta) — head of political department
  • Russian: руководи́тельница аппара́та (rukovodítelʹnica apparáta) — head of political department
  • Spanish: jefe del servicio — head of political department
  • Swedish: stabschef — head of political department