staff
noun
\ ˈstaf
\
\
plural staffs\ ˈstafs
, ˈstavz \
or staves\ ˈstavz
, ˈstāvz \
, ˈstavz \
or staves\ ˈstavz
, ˈstāvz \
Definition of staff
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a
: a long stick carried in the hand for support in walking
2a
: crosier
b
: a rod carried as a symbol of office or authority
3
: the horizontal lines with their spaces on which music is written
— called also stave
4
: any of various graduated sticks or rules used for measuring : rod
5 plural staffs
a
: the officers chiefly responsible for the internal operations of an institution or business
b
: a group of officers appointed to assist a civil executive or commanding officer
c
: military or naval officers not eligible for operational command
d
: the personnel who assist a director in carrying out an assigned task
e
plural staff
: a member of a staff
employs three full-time staff
staff
verb
staffed;
staffing;
staffs
Definition of staff (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: to supply with a staff or with workers
2
: to serve as a staff member of
an organization staffed by volunteers
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Synonyms for staff
Synonyms: Noun
force, help, labor force, manpower, personnel, pool, workforce
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Examples of staff in a Sentence
Noun
The entire staff has done a great job this year. The staff is at a meeting. She's a new member of the staff. The general's staff is planning the army's next move.Verb
We'll need 300 workers to properly staff the hotel. the 300 workers who staff the hotel
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
City staff were aware of the problem and were monitoring it before the most recent ADOT inspection of the bridge in 2018. — Lorraine Longhi, azcentral, "Drinkwater Bridge in Scottsdale to reopen for the first time in 14 months," 11 Sep. 2019 Since being released over the weekend, Hurley is being monitored by his personal physicians and UConn medical staff. — Dom Amore, courant.com, "UConn men’s notebook: Dan Hurley recovering at home; several players returning bigger, stronger; Daniel Hamilton, Amida Brimah reporting to NBA camps," 11 Sep. 2019 Her staff will also be at the forefront of scrutinizing cybersecurity efforts across the bloc and its half a billion citizens. — New York Times, "E.U.’s New Digital Czar: ‘Most Powerful Regulator of Big Tech on the Planet’," 10 Sep. 2019 Fairfax now has two full-time psychologists and a team of clinicians on staff, so officers don't have to pay out of pocket for treatment. — NBC News, "How this police department is fighting for its officers' mental health after suicides," 10 Sep. 2019 More Stories Nassar assaulted his victims over the course of two-plus decades starting in the mid-1990s, much of the abuse taking place in his examination room in a campus building brimming with university staff. — Alia Wong, The Atlantic, "Betsy DeVos’s Extraordinary Crackdown on Michigan State," 10 Sep. 2019 The staff at Post & Beam, Johnson says, is now predominantly African American. — Los Angeles Times, "How Post & Beam, the successful black-owned South L.A. restaurant, stayed in local hands," 9 Sep. 2019 The factory doesn’t provide adequate protective equipment for staff. — Mark Gurman, Fortune, "Apple Admits Breaking Chinese Labor Laws in the World’s Largest iPhone Factory," 9 Sep. 2019 Bowie’s staff was well-regarded as the season began, and only improved with such prospects as Lowther, Michael Baumann, Bruce Zimmermann, Dean Kremer and Alex Wells the constants in the Double-A rotation. — Baltimore Sun Staff, baltimoresun.com, "Orioles’ minor league playoff pushes fueled by pitching, first prong of new front office’s plan to rebuild system," 7 Sep. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Ewins said the traffic division would be fully staffed at 80 officers, but there are only about half that number because of retirements and injuries. — Heather Knight, SFChronicle.com, "Deaths on SF’s streets are up. Traffic enforcement is down. ‘It’s hard to believe these aren’t related’," 30 Aug. 2019 The person said that the Metropolitan Correctional Center’s Special Housing Unit was staffed with one guard working a fifth straight day of overtime and another who was working mandatory overtime. — Time, "Staff Guarding Jeffrey Epstein Were Working Extreme Overtime the Morning of His Death," 12 Aug. 2019 The person said that the Metropolitan Correctional Center’s Special Housing Unit was staffed with one guard working a fifth straight day of overtime and another who was working mandatory overtime. — Michael Balsamo, The Denver Post, "Jeffrey Epstein’s guards worked extreme OT shifts morning of death," 11 Aug. 2019 Three months later, in June 2011, King Abdullah decreed that lingerie shops would only be staffed by women. — Adam Rasmi, Quartz at Work, "A record number of Saudi women have joined the workforce," 30 July 2019 Walk north along the boardwalk and then onto the beach toward Bird Rock and the tide pool area, which is usually staffed by friendly, informative docents (who will warn you with a smile to look but not touch the sea critters). — Los Angeles Times, "Four Hours in Laguna Beach: Art, waves and the perfect O.C. bikini," 26 July 2019 An unattended child passed by a section of our ticket counter that was not staffed or open at the time. — Hanna Flanagan, PEOPLE.com, "Toddler Is Injured After Getting Stuck on Airport Baggage Conveyor Belt System for 5 Minutes," 25 July 2019 On Wednesday, the board said 118 of 120 drainage pumps were operational and the agency was fully staffed. — Author: Chevel Johnson, Janet Mcconnaughey, Anchorage Daily News, "Flooding swamps New Orleans; possible hurricane coming next," 11 July 2019 Patients are increasingly choosing urgent care centers, smartphone apps, telemedicine, and workplace and retail clinics that are often staffed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants for their immediate health needs. — STAT, "We were inspired to become primary care physicians. Now we’re reconsidering a field in crisis," 20 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'staff.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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