staff sergeant

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noun

U.S. Air Force. a noncommissioned officer ranking below a technical sergeant and above an airman first class.

U.S. Army. a noncommissioned officer ranking below a sergeant first class and above a sergeant.

U.S. Marine Corps. a noncommissioned officer ranking below a gunnery sergeant and above a sergeant.

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Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of staff sergeant

First recorded in 1805–15

Words nearby staff sergeant

Stafford, Staffordshire, Staffordshire bull terrier, staffrider, Staffs, staff sergeant, staff sergeant major, stag, stag beetle, stage, stage brace

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use staff sergeant in a sentence

On the morning of March 26, Sergiy Barnich, a 47-year-old staff sergeant in Ukraine’s armed forces, came out of his trench and began to look for enemy mines in the brush.
'They Want the West to Be Frightened.' Ukraine's President on Why Russia Sent Troops to the Border|Simon Shuster / Shumy, Ukraine|April 12, 2021|Time
The staff sergeant said that when he was in the Givati Brigade in 2007 or so, it was “openly secular.”
The Ghosts of Gaza: Israel’s Soldier Suicides|Creede Newton|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On August 18, an IED killed Private First Class Morris Walker and Staff Sergeant Clayton Bowen during a reconnaissance mission.
We Lost Soldiers in the Hunt for Bergdahl, a Guy Who Walked Off in the Dead of Night|Nathan Bradley Bethea|June 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Marine Staff Sergeant Dean Sanchez, in charge of USMC Wounded Warriors living in the Rocky Mountain region, joined me from Denver.
Homefront Veterans: Skiing With Wounded Warriors|John Kael Weston|February 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The last Marine, Staff Sergeant Mark Mangio, decamped in March 2009.
Their Fight…But Our Legacy: The New Battle for Fallujah|John Kael Weston|January 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She described one particularly difficult kid who was paired with a staff sergeant.
Coming Home: A Second Life for Soldiers|Abigail Pesta|November 15, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The staff sergeant took the card with his left hand, saluted smartly again with his right, and looked at Dave and Freddy.
Dave Dawson with the R.A.F|R. Sidney Bowen
There used to be a tough guy over there,—a staff sergeant, he was—that gave lectures on military morals in a deep bass voice.
The Machine That Saved The World|William Fitzgerald Jenkins
Even without his suggestion I should wish to have you with me as my staff sergeant.
The Master of Warlock|George Cary Eggleston
It was in an enlisted club or staff sergeant's club, something of that nature.
Warren Commission (11 of 26): Hearings Vol. XI (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
It was on this day that my nephew, Staff-Sergeant Nickson, was wounded.
Five Months at Anzac|Joseph Lievesley Beeston

British Dictionary definitions for staff sergeant

staff sergeant

noun military

British a noncommissioned officer holding a rank between sergeant and warrant officer and employed on administrative duties

(in the Army) a noncommissioned officer who ranks above sergeant and below sergeant first class
(in the Air Force) a noncommissioned officer who ranks above airman first class and below technical sergeant
(in the Marine Corps) a noncommissioned officer who ranks above sergeant and below gunnery sergeant

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012