staffing definition | Dictionary.com

staff

1 [staf, stahf]

,noun, plural staffs for 1–5, 9; staves [steyv]

or staffs for 6–8, 10, 11; adjective, verb

–noun

1.	a group of persons, as employees, charged with carrying out the work of an establishment or executing some undertaking.

2.	a group of assistants to a manager, superintendent, or executive.

3.	a member of a staff.

Military.

a.	a body of officers without command authority, appointed to assist a commanding officer.

b.	the parts of any army concerned with administrative matters, planning, etc., rather than with actual participation in combat.

5.	those members of an organization serving only in an auxiliary or advisory capacity on a given project. Compare line ¹ (def. 38).

6.	a stick, pole, or rod for aid in walking or climbing, for use as a weapon, etc.

7.	a rod or wand serving as a symbol of office or authority, as a crozier, baton, truncheon, or mace.

8.	a pole on which a flag is hung or displayed.

9.	something that supports or sustains.

10.	Also, stave. Music. a set of horizontal lines, now five in number, with the corresponding four spaces between them, on which music is written.

11.	Archaic. the shaft of a spear, lance, etc.

–adjective

12.	of or pertaining to a military or organizational staff: a staff officer; staff meetings.

13.	(of a professional person) employed on the staff of a corporation, publication, institution, or the like rather than being self-employed or practicing privately: a staff writer; staff physicians at the hospital.

–verb (used with object)

14.	to provide with a staff of assistants or workers: She staffed her office with excellent secretaries.

15.	to serve on the staff of.

16.	to send to a staff for study or further work (often fol. by out): The White House will staff out the recommendations before making a decision.

–verb (used without object)

17.	to hire employees, as for a new office or project (sometimes fol. by up): Next month we'll begin staffing up for the reelection campaign.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME staf (n.), OE stæf; c. D staf, G Stab, ON stafr staff, Skt stabh- support

Related forms:

staffless, adjective

Usage note:
See collective noun.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To staffing

staff¹ (stāf)

n. pl. staffs or staves (stāvz)

1. A stick or cane carried as an aid in walking or climbing.
2. A stout stick used as a weapon; a cudgel.
3. A pole on which a flag is displayed; a flagstaff.
4. A rod or baton carried as a symbol of authority.
5. A group of assistants to a manager, executive, or other person in authority.
6. A group of military officers assigned to assist a commanding officer in an executive or advisory capacity.
7. The personnel who carry out a specific enterprise: the nursing staff of a hospital.
pl. staffs A rule or similar graduated stick used for testing or measuring, as in surveying.
pl. staffs
1. A group of assistants to a manager, executive, or other person in authority.
2. A group of military officers assigned to assist a commanding officer in an executive or advisory capacity.
3. The personnel who carry out a specific enterprise: the nursing staff of a hospital.
Something that serves as a staple or support.
Music A set of horizontal lines and intermediate spaces used in notation to represent a sequence of pitches, in modern notation normally consisting of five lines and four spaces. Also called stave.

tr.v. staffed, staff·ing, staffs

[Middle English staf, from Old English stæf.]

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