staff
Other forms: staffs; staffed; staffing
Staff means everyone who works at a particular place. You might suspect that the town library's not a very fun place to work if its staff is always incredibly cranky every time you visit.
Staff refers to all of the employees at a business, or especially a school, where the teachers as a group are called "the staff." A completely different meaning of staff is a long wooden stick or rod, particularly one that has a specific purpose — like a walking stick or a weapon. This is the original meaning of staff, from the Old English stæf. It wasn't until the nineteenth century that the word staff was used to mean "group of employees."
Definitions of staff
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a strong rod or stick with a specialized utilitarian purpose“he walked with the help of a wooden staff”
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types:
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alpenstock
a stout staff with a metal point; used by mountain climbers
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baton
a short staff carried by some officials to symbolize an office or an authority
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crook, shepherd's crook
a long staff with one end being hook shaped
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crutch
a wooden or metal staff that fits under the armpit and reaches to the ground; used by disabled person while walking
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distaff
the staff on which wool or flax is wound before spinning
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flagpole, flagstaff
a tall staff or pole on which a flag is raised
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pikestaff
the staff of a pike
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quarterstaff
a long stout staff used as a weapon
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type of:
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stick
an implement consisting of a length of wood
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a rod carried as a symbol
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crosier, crozier
a staff surmounted by a crook or cross carried by bishops as a symbol of pastoral office
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mace
a ceremonial staff carried as a symbol of office or authority
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scepter, sceptre, verge, wand
a ceremonial or emblematic staff
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tipstaff
staff with a metal tip carried as a sign of office by e.g. a bailiff or constable
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bauble
a mock scepter carried by a court jester
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type of:
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symbol
an arbitrary sign (written or printed) that has acquired a conventional significance
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(music) the system of five horizontal lines on which the musical notes are written
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synonyms:
stave
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type of:
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musical notation
(music) notation used by musicians
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musical notation
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personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task“the hospital has an excellent nursing staff”“the general relied on his staff to make routine decisions”
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newsroom
the staff of a newspaper or the news department of a periodical
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office, office staff
professional or clerical workers in an office
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research staff
a group of associated research workers in a university or library or laboratory
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sales staff
those in a business who are responsible for sales
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security staff
those in an organization responsible for preventing spying or theft
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maintenance staff, service staff
those in a business responsible for maintaining the physical plant
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general staff
military officers assigned to assist a senior officer in planning military policy
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headquarters staff
military staff stationed at headquarters
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the body of teachers and administrators at a school
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serve on the staff of“The two men staff the reception desk”
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type of:
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serve
do duty or hold offices; serve in a specific function
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serve
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provide with staff
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building material consisting of plaster and hair; used to cover external surfaces of temporary structure (as at an exposition) or for decoration
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type of:
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building material
material used for constructing buildings
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building material
Pronunciation
US
/stæf/
UK
/stɑf/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘staff'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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