per ‧ son ‧ nel W3 /ˌpɜːsəˈnel $ ˌpɜːr-/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ person , ↑ personality , ↑ persona , ↑ personage , the personals, ↑ personification , ↑ personnel ; adjective : ↑ personal ≠ ↑ impersonal , ↑ personalized , ↑ personable ; verb : ↑ personalize , ↑ personify ; adverb : ↑ personally ≠ ↑ impersonally ]
[ Date: 1800-1900 ; Language: French ; Origin: personne 'person' ]
1 . [plural] the people who work in a company, organization, or military force ⇨ staff
military/medical/technical etc personnel
senior military personnel
doctors and other medical personnel
All personnel are to receive security badges.
2 . [uncountable] the department in a company that chooses people for jobs and deals with their complaints, problems etc SYN human resources :
A copy should then be sent to Personnel for our files.
the personnel department
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ military/service personnel
There have been attacks upon US military personnel.
▪ security personnel
Security personnel have become more thorough in checking passengers' bags.
▪ medical personnel
There is an acute shortage of medical personnel.
▪ technical personnel
800 technical personnel do the design and development of software.
▪ trained/qualified personnel
The unit is staffed by trained personnel.
▪ skilled personnel
Organizations need to be able to attract skilled personnel.
▪ senior personnel
It is crucial that senior personnel be on site from at least 8 am to 8 pm.
▪ key personnel
Many of the key personnel have left.