staff1
/stɑːf
/noun
1 [treated as singular or plural] All the people employed by a particular organization: a staff of 600 hospital staff were not to blame...
- It will take time to train up the staff, but I am hopeful that the post office can get on top of the problem in the coming months.
- The only way I've ever gotten a job is because I know somebody on the staff or the owner.
- The library staff attach a sign to the door and lock it whenever large groups of children gather in the square outside.
Synonyms
employees, workers, workforce, personnel, hands, hired hands, labourers, human resources, manpower, labour;
office workers, white-collar workers, assistants, secretaries;
teachers, lecturers;
doctors, nurses;
North American interns
humorous liveware
1.1The teachers in a school or college: [as modifier]: a staff meeting...
- In many school districts, these are teachers or other staff members looking for a new job.
- As part of our college tradition, a staff member visits a family when they are going through a rough patch.
- Two weeks ago the College Steward banned staff members from drinking with students.
2 [treated as singular or plural] A group of officers assisting an officer in command of an army formation or administration headquarters: the Polish General and his staff [as modifier]: after the Second World War he took up a string of staff appointments...
- A few non-regimental doctors served on the administrative staff for general and field hospitals.
- It would be years before we met again, this time as generals on the staff of the Army in Europe.
- He was the first staff air medical officer to be appointed by the Royal Navy.
2.1 (usually Staff) short for staff sergeant.The Staff seem to think that exposure to the elements is good for us.
3A long stick used as a support when walking or climbing or as a weapon: a shepherd’s staff figurative he adopted literature as the staff of his pilgrimage...
- It was a wide arena, with a lodge at one end; I suppose to store the weapons: staffs, swords, bows, etc.
- In one cabinet were metal weapons, from staffs to daggers.
- Both depict Liberty figures standing with their fasces and bonnets supported on staffs before key locations in Rome, as if claiming them as their own.
Synonyms
stick, walking stick, cane, crook, crutch, prop
club, stick, cudgel, bludgeon, life preserver, shillelagh, baseball bat;
truncheon, baton;
North American blackjack;
Indian lathi, danda;
South African kierie, knobkerrie, sjambok
British informal cosh
3.1A rod or sceptre held as a sign of office or authority.The Hemba chief holds a cane or staff, sign of authority passed down from the founder of the state....
- All of the mages had staffs appropriate to their height with globes resting atop them.
Synonyms
rod, tipstaff, mace, wand, sceptre, crozier, verge;
Greek Mythology caduceus
3.2 short for flagstaff.When I find a staff for the flag, I'll find a way to tie our mascot on the staff in some way....
- Surmounting the whole structure will be the staff for the flag, and the tower and flag will form one of the landmarks at Valley Forge.
3.3 Surveying A rod for measuring distances or heights.he Nedo Messtronic is an easy-to-use digital telescopic measuring staff for skilled trades....
- In many cases, actual measuring staffs or rods, to indicate the exact dimensions of the ironwork, should be sent to the site in advance.
3.4British A spindle in a watch.It has jaws adapted to receive and grasp a roller and a movable sliding spindle to engage with the staff of the balance-wheel, and a lever for operating the spindle.
3.5British A token in the form of a rod given to a train driver as authority to proceed over a single-track line.Authority to enter the single line was by the signalman at the entrance giving the driver a "staff", a rod of wood or metal, on which the name of the single line was stamped....
- When the train arrived at the other end of the single line, the staff was given up to allow a train to proceed in the opposite direction.
4 Music another term for stave (sense 2 of the noun).
verb [with object]
Provide (an organization, business, etc.) with staff: legal advice centres are staffed by volunteer lawyers (as adjective staffed) all units are fully staffed...
- Dr Anthony made it clear that the unit was fully staffed by a team of highly competent specialists.
- Our shops were mostly small family businesses, owned and staffed by Scots.
- The Centre is staffed by trained volunteers who are available to meet all callers.
Synonyms
man, people, crew, work, operate, occupy
Phrases
the staff of life
Origin
Old English stæf (in sense 3 of the noun), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch staf and German Stab.
stave from Middle English:
Old English staff ‘walking stick’ had a plural staves, which with the -s dropped became stave—the sort of stick from which you could built a barrel. Use as a musical term for a set of lines for musical notation dates from the early 19th century. Current senses of the verb date from the early 17th century, with stave off—fend off as if with a staff—found from the same date.
Rhymes
staff2
/stɑːf/noun [mass noun]
A mixture of plaster of Paris, cement, or a similar material, used for temporary building work.Staff may easily be bent, sawed, bored, or nailed....
- Staff was invented in France about 1876 and was used in the construction and ornamentation of the buildings of the Paris Expositions of 1878 and of 1889.
Origin
Late 19th century: of unknown origin.