1
a
: a long stick carried in the hand for support in walking
b
: a supporting rod: such as
(1)
archaic
: shaft sense 1a(1)
(2)
: a crosspiece in a ladder or chair : rung
(3)
(4)
: a pivoted arbor
2
a
: 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
adjective
staffed; staffing; staffs
1
: to supply with a staff or with workers
2
: to serve as a staff member of
an organization staffed by volunteers
Synonyms
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
Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2024
Unless the mayor and City Council say otherwise, the staff will renew it.
—Taylor Seely, The Arizona Republic, 14 Apr. 2024
The new licensing and certification staff is stationed in DHCS’ Orange County office on MacArthur Boulevard, spokesman Anthony Cava said.
—Teri Sforza, Orange County Register, 14 Apr. 2024
The exchanges between Gibson and his staff were a collegial banter.
—Jillian Steinhauer, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2024
At the time, Mistral hadn’t developed its first product and had only just started hiring staff.
—Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 12 Apr. 2024
Times staff writer Wendy Lee contributed to this report.
—Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
In the initial months after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people, according to Israel, Sanders received pushback from progressives, including previous campaign staff, for refusing to call for a cease-fire.
—Elena Moore, NPR, 12 Apr. 2024
Developers will hash out the details of their project with county and city officials over the coming year, county staff told the commission.
—Jaime Moore-Carrillo, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Apr. 2024
Sarah Pulliam Bailey, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Both the fire engines and ambulances will remain fully staffed at all times.
—Sam Kmack, The Arizona Republic, 11 Apr. 2024
But despite the need, the programs face significant obstacles, and many are scrambling for dollars and staffing to stay afloat.
—Leah Fabel, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Apr. 2024
Now, the officials said, the center is nearly fully functional and staffed with representatives from suburban and federal agencies, along with D.C. police.
—Peter Hermann, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
He was staffed as a writer for the first time on Showtime’s Fellow Travelers.
—Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Apr. 2024
Within half an hour of my house there are three quilting stores, all of them staffed by kindly women eager to provide advice, support, and praise.
—Ayelet Waldman, The New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2024
The lawsuit accused the company of not properly staffing the boat.
—Jake Offenhartz and Claudia Lauer, Quartz, 3 Apr. 2024
GiveWell’s Karnofsky moved to an EA philanthropy that gives out hundreds of millions of dollars a year and staffed up institutes with portentous names like Global Priorities and The Future of Humanity.
—Leif Wenar, WIRED, 27 Mar. 2024
Noun
The Mayor’s Office provided a spreadsheet showing 16 properties available for lease across the region and nine others being offered for sale that were evaluated by city staff.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2024
Unless the mayor and City Council say otherwise, the staff will renew it.
—Taylor Seely, The Arizona Republic, 14 Apr. 2024
The new licensing and certification staff is stationed in DHCS’ Orange County office on MacArthur Boulevard, spokesman Anthony Cava said.
—Teri Sforza, Orange County Register, 14 Apr. 2024
The exchanges between Gibson and his staff were a collegial banter.
—Jillian Steinhauer, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2024
At the time, Mistral hadn’t developed its first product and had only just started hiring staff.
—Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 12 Apr. 2024
Times staff writer Wendy Lee contributed to this report.
—Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
In the initial months after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people, according to Israel, Sanders received pushback from progressives, including previous campaign staff, for refusing to call for a cease-fire.
—Elena Moore, NPR, 12 Apr. 2024
Developers will hash out the details of their project with county and city officials over the coming year, county staff told the commission.
—Jaime Moore-Carrillo, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Apr. 2024
Verb
The association, which has its own governing board, maintains control of the land, staffs the beach with lifeguards and sometimes hosts Christian services in its beachfront pavilion and baptisms on the beach, which is less than a mile long.
—Sarah Pulliam Bailey, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Both the fire engines and ambulances will remain fully staffed at all times.
—Sam Kmack, The Arizona Republic, 11 Apr. 2024
But despite the need, the programs face significant obstacles, and many are scrambling for dollars and staffing to stay afloat.
—Leah Fabel, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Apr. 2024
Now, the officials said, the center is nearly fully functional and staffed with representatives from suburban and federal agencies, along with D.C. police.
—Peter Hermann, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
He was staffed as a writer for the first time on Showtime’s Fellow Travelers.
—Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Apr. 2024
Within half an hour of my house there are three quilting stores, all of them staffed by kindly women eager to provide advice, support, and praise.
—Ayelet Waldman, The New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2024
The lawsuit accused the company of not properly staffing the boat.
—Jake Offenhartz and Claudia Lauer, Quartz, 3 Apr. 2024
GiveWell’s Karnofsky moved to an EA philanthropy that gives out hundreds of millions of dollars a year and staffed up institutes with portentous names like Global Priorities and The Future of Humanity.
—Leif Wenar, WIRED, 27 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'staff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near staff
Cite this Entry
“Staff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/staff. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
staff
1 of 2 noun1
a
: a pole, stick, rod, or bar used as a support or as a sign of authority
a flag hanging limp on its staff
b
: the long handle of a weapon (as a lance or pike)
2
: something that is a source of strength
bread is the staff of life
3
: the five horizontal lines and the spaces between them on which music is written
4
plural staffs
a
: a group of persons serving as assistants to or employees under a chief
a hospital staff
b
: military officers who assist a commanding officer in planning and management but who do not take part in actual combat
staff
adjective
staff
2 of 2 verb
: to supply with a staff or with workers
Medical Definition
staff
noun
: the doctors and surgeons regularly attached to a hospital and helping to determine its policies and guide its activities
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