Definitions for staff
stæf, stɑfstaff

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. 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"

2. staffnoun

   a strong rod or stick with a specialized utilitarian purpose

   "he walked with the help of a wooden staff"

3. staff, facultynoun

   the body of teachers and administrators at a school

   "the dean addressed the letter to the entire staff of the university"

4. staffnoun

   building material consisting of plaster and hair; used to cover external surfaces of temporary structure (as at an exposition) or for decoration

5. staffnoun

   a rod carried as a symbol

6. staff, staveverb

   (music) the system of five horizontal lines on which the musical notes are written

7. staffverb

   provide with staff

   "This position is not always staffed"

8. staffverb

   serve on the staff of

   "The two men staff the reception desk"

GCIDERate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. 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.

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. staffnoun

   a long, straight stick, especially one used to assist in walking.

2. staffnoun

   A series of horizontal lines on which musical notes are written.

3. staffnoun

   The employees of a business.

   The company employed 10 new staff this month.

4. staffnoun

   A mixture of plaster and fibre used as a temporary exterior wall covering (see Wikipedia article)

5. staffverb

   to supply (a business) with employees

6. Etymology: stæf, from stabaz. Cognate with Dutch staf, German Stab, Swedish stav.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. STAFFnoun

   plur. staves.

   Etymology: stæf , Saxon; staff, Danish; staff, Dutch.

   1. A stick with which a man supports himself in walking.

   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.

   2. A prop; a support.

   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.

   3. A stick used as a weapon; a club; the handle of an edged or pointed weapon. A club properly includes the notion of weight, and the staff of length.

   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.

   4. Any long piece of wood.

   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.

   5. An ensign of an office; a badge of authority.

   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.

   6. [ Stef, Islandick]A stanza; a series of verses regularly disposed, so as that, when the stanza is concluded, the same order begins again.

   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.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. 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 DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. 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

2. Staffnoun

   a stick carried in the hand for support or defense by a person walking; hence, a support; that which props or upholds

3. Staffnoun

   a pole, stick, or wand borne as an ensign of authority; a badge of office; as, a constable's staff

4. Staffnoun

   a pole upon which a flag is supported and displayed

5. Staffnoun

   the round of a ladder

6. Staffnoun

   a series of verses so disposed that, when it is concluded, the same order begins again; a stanza; a stave

7. Staffnoun

   the five lines and the spaces on which music is written; -- formerly called stave

8. Staffnoun

   an arbor, as of a wheel or a pinion of a watch

9. Staffnoun

   the grooved director for the gorget, or knife, used in cutting for stone in the bladder

10. 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

11. Staffnoun

    hence: A body of assistants serving to carry into effect the plans of a superintendant or manager; as, the staff of a newspaper

12. 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.]

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. 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 DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. 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 TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. staff

   See multinational staff; integrated staff; joint staff; parallel staff; special staff.

Dictionary of Nautical TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. 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 GazetteerRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. 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 ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. 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 RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. 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.

Matched Categories

1. • Building Material
   • Force
   • Provide
   • Serve
   • Stick
   • Symbol

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'staff' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #403

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'staff' in Written Corpus Frequency: #616

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'staff' in Nouns Frequency: #145

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

1. 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Anagrams for staff »

1. taffs

How to pronounce staff?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say staff in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of staff in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of staff in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of staff in a Sentence

1. Fumie Sakamoto:

   Hospitals cannot survive by relying on medical staff's sacrifice and good will.

2. Ahmed Nasr:

   I was at a buffet and the staff encouraged me to try Russian food. I liked it. I did not even know what they ate in Russia, in Canada we have Chinese, Indian, Middle Eastern food, but I've never seen Russian. Maybe I will look for a Russian restaurant - hopefully I can find one!

3. White House:

   At the only Cabinet meeting so far of 2019, President Trump was seated next to an acting secretary of defense and an acting secretary of interior, across from President Trump is President Trump. To the right is the acting head of White House Budget Office. And President Trump's acting because the former White House budget chief is now acting chief of staff.

4. Elizabeth Esty:

   What I did was not good enough and it didn’t protect [my staff] enough, … I’m hopeful now with this conversation and this coming out that I’ll be able to be much more direct and help other people in Congress understand the risks they are placing their staff at when they don’t think they are.

5. Stacie Harvey:

   The majority of my staff have a lot of Christian beliefs and I can’t force them to marry people.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=staff
2. ^ GCIDE
   https://gcide.gnu.org.ua/?q=staff
3. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Staff
4. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=staff
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/staff
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=staff
8. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=staff
9. ^ Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms
   https://www.tradoc.army.mil/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/AD1029823-DOD-Dictionary-of-Military-and-Associated-Terms-2017.pdf
10. ^ Dictionary of Nautical Terms
    https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26000/pg26000-images.html#:~:text=staff
11. ^ Military Dictionary and Gazetteer
    https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/59563/pg59563-images.html
12. ^ Surnames Frequency by Census Records
    https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html
13. ^ Usage in printed sources
    https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=staff