I. staff 1 S2 W2 /stɑːf $ stæf/ BrE AmE noun
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: stæf 'stick' ]
1 . WORKERS [ C, also plural British English ] the people who work for an organization
staff of 10/50 etc
Our department has a staff of seven.
The entire staff has done an outstanding job this year.
They employ a total of 150 staff.
The staff were very helpful.
medical/academic/library etc staff
a strike by ambulance staff
one of our longest-serving staff members
member of staff British English :
I’d like to welcome a new member of staff.
on the staff (of something)
We were both on the staff of the British Film Institute at the time.
on staff American English :
Joan is the only lawyer we have on staff.
a staff meeting
staff room British English (=a room for teachers in a school)
GRAMMAR
In British English, staff is often used as a plural noun and followed by a plural verb:
▪
We need to recruit more staff.
▪
All the teaching staff were women.
In American English, staff is not often used in this way, and is never followed by a plural verb.
► You never refer to a person as 'a staff'. Say a staff member , a member of staff (BrE), or an employee .
2 . STICK [countable] ( plural staves /steɪvz/)
a) old use a long thick stick to help you walk
b) a long thick stick that an official holds in some ceremonies
3 . MUSIC [countable] especially American English the set of five lines that music is written on SYN stave
4 . the staff of life literary bread
⇨ ↑ general staff , ↑ ground staff
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + staff
▪ full-time/part-time staff
The school has over 100 full-time staff.
▪ permanent/temporary staff
Much of the work is done by temporary staff.
▪ senior/junior staff
I have taken on board the comments of my senior staff.
▪ medical/academic/technical etc staff
We would like to thank all the medical staff at Broadgreen Hospital.
▪ hospital/library/office etc staff
He had responsibility for training library staff.
▪ support staff (=office staff, technical staff etc)
A school needs good support staff.
▪ trained/qualified staff
Recruitment of trained staff was a continuing problem.
■ staff + NOUN
▪ a staff member ( also a member of staff British English )
At least one staff member should always be present.
▪ a staff meeting
On Wednesdays there’s our weekly staff meeting.
▪ staff training
The company has made a massive investment in staff training.
▪ the staff room British English (=a room for teachers in a school)
I usually have a coffee in the staff room before school starts.
▪ staff morale (=how happy and confident the staff somewhere feel)
Staff morale has been badly affected by the reorganisation.
■ verbs
▪ have staff ( also employ staff formal )
The hotel has 145 staff.
▪ join the staff
Kelly Jones has joined the staff as a medical secretary.
■ phrases
▪ be on the staff British English , be on staff AmE:
He is no longer on the staff.
II. staff 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive usually passive]
to be or provide the workers for an organization ⇨ overstaffed , understaffed :
The centre is staffed mainly by volunteers.
—staffing noun [uncountable] :
staffing levels