/ stɑːf; NAmE stæf/ noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ C , usually sing. , U ] all the workers employed in an organization considered as a group :
medical staff
( BrE )
teaching staff
( BrE )
We have 20 part-time members of staff .
( NAmE )
staff members
staff development / training
a staff restaurant / meeting
( especially BrE )
a lawyer on the staff of the Worldwide Fund for Nature
—see also ground staff
2.
[ sing. ] ( NAmE ) the people who work at a school, college or university, but who do not teach students :
students, faculty and staff
3.
[ C +sing./pl. v . ] a group of senior army officers who help a commanding officer :
a staff officer
—see also chief of staff , general staff
4.
[ C ] ( old-fashioned or formal ) a long stick used as a support when walking or climbing, as a weapon, or as a symbol of authority
5.
[ C ] ( music ) ( especially NAmE ) = stave
•
IDIOMS
- the staff of life
■ verb
[ vn ] [ usually passive ] to work in an institution, a company, etc.; to provide people to work there :
The advice centre is staffed entirely by volunteers.
The charity provided money to staff and equip two hospitals.
a fully staffed department
—see also overstaffed , short-staffed , understaffed
► staf·fing noun [ U ]:
staffing levels
••
GRAMMAR
staff
In BrE staff (sense 1) can be singular:
a staff of ten
(= a group of ten people) or plural:
I have ten staff working for me
. If it is the subject of a verb, this verb is plural:
The staff in this shop are very helpful.
In NAmE staff (senses 1 and 2) can only be singular:
a staff of ten
(but not ten staff ). •
The staff in this store is very helpful
.
The plural form staffs is less frequent but is used in both BrE and NAmE to refer to more than one group of people:
the senator and his staff (singular)
•
senators and their staffs (plural)
.
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English stæf (in sense 4), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch staf and German Stab .