staff
1a group of persons, as employees, charged with carrying out the work of an establishment or executing some undertaking.
a group of assistants to a manager, superintendent, or executive.
a member of a staff.
Military.
a body of officers without command authority, appointed to assist a commanding officer.
the parts of any army concerned with administrative matters, planning, etc., rather than with actual participation in combat.
those members of an organization serving only in an auxiliary or advisory capacity on a given project.: Compare line1 (def. 38).
a stick, pole, or rod for aid in walking or climbing, for use as a weapon, etc.
a rod or wand serving as a symbol of office or authority, as a crozier, baton, truncheon, or mace.
a pole on which a flag is hung or displayed.
something that supports or sustains.
Also stave .Music. a set of horizontal lines, now five in number, with the corresponding four spaces between them, on which music is written.
Archaic. the shaft of a spear, lance, etc.
of or relating to a military or organizational staff: a staff officer; staff meetings.
(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.
to provide with a staff of assistants or workers: She staffed her office with excellent secretaries.
to serve on the staff of.
to send to a staff for study or further work (often followed by out): The White House will staff out the recommendations before making a decision.
to hire employees, as for a new office or project (sometimes followed by up): Next month we'll begin staffing up for the reelection campaign.
Origin of staff
1Grammar notes for staff
Other words from staff
- staffless, adjective
- un·staffed, adjective
- well-staffed, adjective
Words that may be confused with staff
- staff , staph
Other definitions for staff (2 of 2)
a composition of plaster and fibrous material used for a temporary finish and in ornamental work, as on exposition buildings.
Origin of staff
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use staff in a sentence
The book is broken into what Dickens calls staves, not chapters.
The mother unties the palm staves from the mattress, then takes the nylon ropes and ties the mattress to the boat.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq | Nathan Bradley Bethea | August 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt is clear to you that she intends to use the staves as oars.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq | Nathan Bradley Bethea | August 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn Italy he decides that fascism is in fact “a sort of boy scout regime; but instead of staves it carries revolvers.”
The Grand Tour in Style: Robert Byron’s ‘Europe in the Looking-Glass’ | Malcolm Forbes | November 16, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTAnother common trick is to flavor inexpensive wines with oak chips or staves.
Regular pitched battles were fought with sticks and staves and stones.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland | Joseph TatlowNear the stream we found some felled trees and the staves of a cask.
The ribbon was supported at proper distances by white staves, similar to those of the court ushers.
The fact is, that a week ago he had ordered a lot of constables' staves and four sets of handcuffs.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend | Charles ReadeThen came the pitch-pine staves of a rice-cask; then a bedstead, a broken chair, a wooden flowerpot!
The Boys of '61 | Charles Carleton Coffin.
British Dictionary definitions for staff (1 of 2)
/ (stɑːf) /
a group of people employed by a company, individual, etc, for executive, clerical, sales work, etc
(modifier) attached to or provided for the staff of an establishment: a staff doctor
the body of teachers or lecturers of an educational institution, as distinct from the students
the officers appointed to assist a commander, service, or central headquarters organization in establishing policy, plans, etc
a stick with some special use, such as a walking stick or an emblem of authority
something that sustains or supports: bread is the staff of life
a pole on which a flag is hung
mainly British a graduated rod used in surveying, esp for sighting to with a levelling instrument: Usual US name: rod
Also called: stave music
the system of horizontal lines grouped into sets of five (four in the case of plainsong) upon which music is written. The spaces between them are also used, being employed in conjunction with a clef in order to give a graphic indication of pitch
any set of five lines in this system together with its clef: the treble staff
(tr) to provide with a staff
Origin of staff
1British Dictionary definitions for staff (2 of 2)
/ (stɑːf) /
US a mixture of plaster and hair used to cover the external surface of temporary structures and for decoration
Origin of staff
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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