What does staff mean?
Definitions for staff
stæf, stɑfstaff
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word staff.
Princeton's WordNet
staffnoun
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"
staffnoun
a strong rod or stick with a specialized utilitarian purpose
"he walked with the help of a wooden staff"
staff, facultynoun
the body of teachers and administrators at a school
"the dean addressed the letter to the entire staff of the university"
staffnoun
building material consisting of plaster and hair; used to cover external surfaces of temporary structure (as at an exposition) or for decoration
staffnoun
a rod carried as a symbol
staff, staveverb
(music) the system of five horizontal lines on which the musical notes are written
staffverb
provide with staff
"This position is not always staffed"
staffverb
serve on the staff of
"The two men staff the reception desk"
GCIDE
Staffnoun
Hence: A body of assistants serving to carry into effect the plans of a superintendent or manager; sometimes used for the entire group of employees of an enterprise, excluding the top management; as, the staff of a newspaper.
Wiktionary
staffnoun
a long, straight stick, especially one used to assist in walking.
staffnoun
A series of horizontal lines on which musical notes are written.
staffnoun
The employees of a business.
The company employed 10 new staff this month.
staffnoun
A mixture of plaster and fibre used as a temporary exterior wall covering (see Wikipedia article)
staffverb
to supply (a business) with employees
Etymology: stæf, from stabaz. Cognate with Dutch staf, German Stab, Swedish stav.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
STAFFnoun
plur. staves.
Etymology: stæf , Saxon; staff, Danish; staff, Dutch.
It much would please him,
That of his fortunes you would make a staff
To lean upon. William Shakespeare, Ant. and Cleopatra.Grant me and my people the benefit of thy chastisements, that thy rod as well as thy staff may comfort us. Charles I .
Is it probable that he, who had met whole armies in battle, should now throw away his staff, out of fear of a dog. William Broome.
Hope is a lover’s staff; walk hence with that,
And manage it against despairing thoughts. William Shakespeare.The boy was the very staff of my age, my very prop. William Shakespeare.
I cannot strike at wretched kernes, whose arms
Are hir’d to bear their staves. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.He that bought the skin ran greater risque than t’other that sold it, and had the worse end of the staff. Roger L'Estrange.
With forks and staves the felon they pursue. Dryden.
He forthwith from the glitt’ring staff unfurl’d
Th’ imperial ensign. John Milton.To his single eye, that in his forehead glar’d
Like a full moon, or a broad burnish’d shield,
A forky staff we dext’rously apply’d,
Which, in the spacious socket turning round,
Scoopt out the big round gelly from its orb. Addison.Methought this staff, mine office-badge in court,
Was broke in twain. William Shakespeare, Henry VI.All his officers brake their staves; but at their return new staves were delivered unto them. John Hayward, on Edward VI.
Cowley found out that no kind of staff is proper for an heroick poem, as being all too lyrical; yet though he wrote in couplets, where rhyme is freer from constraint, he affects half verses. Dryden.
ChatGPT
staff
Staff refers to all the people employed by a particular organization, commonly in roles like administration, management, or production. This group of individuals is responsible for efficiently carrying out the daily operations, contributing to the organization’s goals and objectives.
Webster Dictionary
Staffnoun
a long piece of wood; a stick; the long handle of an instrument or weapon; a pole or srick, used for many purposes; as, a surveyor's staff; the staff of a spear or pike
Staffnoun
a stick carried in the hand for support or defense by a person walking; hence, a support; that which props or upholds
Staffnoun
a pole, stick, or wand borne as an ensign of authority; a badge of office; as, a constable's staff
Staffnoun
a pole upon which a flag is supported and displayed
Staffnoun
the round of a ladder
Staffnoun
a series of verses so disposed that, when it is concluded, the same order begins again; a stanza; a stave
Staffnoun
the five lines and the spaces on which music is written; -- formerly called stave
Staffnoun
an arbor, as of a wheel or a pinion of a watch
Staffnoun
the grooved director for the gorget, or knife, used in cutting for stone in the bladder
Staffnoun
an establishment of officers in various departments attached to an army, to a section of an army, or to the commander of an army. The general's staff consists of those officers about his person who are employed in carrying his commands into execution. See Etat Major
Staffnoun
hence: A body of assistants serving to carry into effect the plans of a superintendant or manager; as, the staff of a newspaper
Etymology: [G. staffiren to fill or fit out, adorn, fr. D. stoffeeren, OF. estoffer, F. toffer, fr. OF. estoffe stuff, F. toffe. See Stuff, n.]
Wikidata
Staff
A military staff is a group of officers and enlisted personnel that are responsible for the administrative, operational and logistical needs of its unit. It provides bi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer and subordinate military units. A staff also provides an executive function where it filters information needed by the commander or shunts unnecessary information.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Staff
staf, n. a stick carried for support or defence: a prop: a long piece of wood: pole: a flagstaff: the long handle of an instrument: a stick or ensign of authority: the five lines and spaces on which music is written: a stanza (the previous meanings have pl. Staffs or Staves, stāvz): a body of skilled officers whose duty it is, under orders from the commanding officers of various grades, to arrange the movements and supply of the various bodies which go to make up an army: a similar body of persons in any undertaking, acting under a manager or chief (the last two meanings have pl. Staffs, stafs).—ns. Staff′-captain, the senior grade in the navigating branch in the British navy; Staff′-coll′ege, a college where military officers are trained in the higher branches of professional knowledge, and prepared for holding staff-appointments; Staff′-corps, a body of intelligent officers and men who performed engineering and siege duties, made reconnaissances, &c. during the wars of Wellington; (Indian) a body of British officers serving on the permanent Indian establishment, appointed from it to do duty with native regiments, &c.; Staff′-dū′ty, the occupation of an officer who serves on a staff, having been detached from his regiment; Staff′-notā′tion, musical notation in which a staff is used, as opposed to the tonic-solfa system; Staff′-sur′geon, a navy surgeon of senior grade; Staff′-sys′tem, a block-system in use on single-line railways in which the station-master gives the engine-driver a staff authorising him to proceed over a given portion. [A.S. stæf; Ice. stafr, Ger. stab.]
Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms
staff
See multinational staff; integrated staff; joint staff; parallel staff; special staff.
Dictionary of Nautical Terms
staff
A light pole erected in different parts of a ship, whereon to hoist and display the colours; as, the ensign-staff, reared immediately over the stern; the jack-staff, fixed on the bowsprit-cap. In military affairs, the staff includes all officials not having direct and specific military command, as the adjutant-general, quartermaster-general, majors of brigade, aides-de-camp, &c. This term has been unaccountably pilfered by the admiralty lately from the army, as a prefix to a naval title.
Military Dictionary and Gazetteer
staff
The staff of an army consists of a body of skilled officers whose duty it is to combine and give vitality to the movements and mechanical action of the several regiments and drilled bodies composing the force. The distinction between an officer on the staff of an army and a regimental officer is that the latter is concerned with his own regiment alone, while the former deals with his army (of course under the orders of his commanding officer), or section of an army, and regulates the combined action of the several arms and bodies of men. A good staff is all-important to the success of a military enterprise. In the British service the general staff of an army comprises the general in actual command, with the subordinate generals commanding the several divisions and brigades; as assistants to these the officers of the adjutant-general’s department,—i.e., the adjutant-general, his deputy, assistants, and deputy-assistants, if the army be large enough to require them all. Similarly, the officers of the quartermaster-general’s department; the brigade-major; the provost-marshal, and the judge-advocate.
Suggested Resources
staff
The staff symbol -- In this Symbols.com article you will learn about the meaning of the staff symbol and its characteristic.
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
STAFF
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Staff is ranked #14191 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Staff surname appeared 2,116 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Staff.
90.8% or 1,923 total occurrences were White.
3.6% or 77 total occurrences were Black.
3.5% or 76 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
0.9% or 21 total occurrences were of two or more races.
0.5% or 11 total occurrences were Asian.
0.3% or 8 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'staff' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #403
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'staff' in Written Corpus Frequency: #616
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'staff' in Nouns Frequency: #145
Anagrams for staff »
taffs
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of staff in Chaldean Numerology is: 6
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of staff in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7
Examples of staff in a Sentence
We came up with a number of dishes. We did a tasting with Dr. Jill Biden and her staff. And we tasted through – oh I don’t know, 10, 12, 13 different courses of food. It was really just a collaboration of talking through what fit for the dinner – what fit just presentation-wise, colors, everything. So we narrowed it down, then we did another round of testing, and this is the result.
Slaughtering the staff is not necessarily the solution unless management makes the bank considerably less complex.
I was selling it in order to maintain my staff for a few more weeks until we can get through this and figure it out so I didn't entertain any of those low-ball offers.
More than 30 aides to President Donald Trump have been stripped of access to top secret intelligence, two people familiar with the move said. The officials have been notified that they will be downgraded to lower-level ‘secret’ interim security clearances, said the two people. … All of the officials whose clearances were downgraded held the top secret designation on an interim basis. [Chief of Staff John Kelly] set a new policy that took effect last week that permits interim clearances only at the secret level and not permitting temporary clearances at higher levels. … Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley this week called for answers from the White House and the FBI about reports that dozens of top officials still lacked a full security clearance and that some them, including [Jared Kushner], had access to the highly classified President’s Daily Brief prepared by intelligence agencies.
Hotel staff are obviously using them, obviously more for show than anything, you'd have a better chance of finding a bomb with a water pistol.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for staff
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- العاملينArabic
- pentagrama, staff, bastó, plantillaCatalan, Valencian
- hůl, osnova, personálCzech
- staffioWelsh
- stav, personale, stang, stabDanish
- Stab, Belegschaft, Personal, NotenlinienGerman
- ράβδος, προσωπικό, επιτελείο, επανδρώνω, ραβδί, πεντάγραμμοGreek
- bastonoEsperanto
- báculo, equipo, empleado, pauta, pentagrama, bastón, varas, plantilla, personalSpanish
- hagaBasque
- پرسنل, کادرPersian
- sauva, salko, henkilökunta, nuottiviivasto, henkilöstö, miehittääFinnish
- staff, canne, portée, personnel, bâtonFrench
- foireannIrish
- cliabh, bataScottish Gaelic
- מַקֵּלHebrew
- कर्मचारीHindi
- գավազան, ձեռնափայտ, ցուպArmenian
- toyaIndonesian
- bastonoIdo
- pentagramma, bastone, asta, personale, organicoItalian
- 杖, 五線, 人員, 棒, 譜表, スタッフJapanese
- baculumLatin
- langilangy, tehinaMalagasy
- turupouMāori
- стап, кадар, петолиние, персоналMacedonian
- balk, notenbalk, staf, medewerkers, personeelDutch
- personaleNorwegian
- laska, kij, personel, pracownicy, pięcioliniaPolish
- cajado, pauta, pessoalPortuguese
- personal, portativRomanian
- посох, палка, нотный стан, персонал, жезл, кадр, штатRussian
- шта̑п, osoblje, štȃp, особљеSerbo-Croatian
- palica, žrď, bakuľaSlovak
- stav, personalSwedish
- خىزمەتچىUyghur, Uighur
- pösodefVolapük
- שטעקןYiddish
- indukuZulu
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