1
a
: a long stick carried in the hand for support in walking
b
: a supporting rod: such as
(1)
archaic
: shaft sense 1a(1)
(2)
: a crosspiece in a ladder or chair : rung
(3)
(4)
: a pivoted arbor
2
a
: crosier
b
: a rod carried as a symbol of office or authority
3
: the horizontal lines with their spaces on which music is written
called also stave
4
: any of various graduated sticks or rules used for measuring : rod
5
plural staffs
a
: the officers chiefly responsible for the internal operations of an institution or business
b
: a group of officers appointed to assist a civil executive or commanding officer
c
: military or naval officers not eligible for operational command
d
: the personnel who assist a director in carrying out an assigned task
e
plural staff
: a member of a staff
employs three full-time staff
staff
adjective
staffed; staffing; staffs
1
: to supply with a staff or with workers
2
: to serve as a staff member of
an organization staffed by volunteers
Examples of staff in a Sentence
Noun
The entire staff has done a great job this year.
The staff is at a meeting.
She's a new member of the staff.
The general's staff is planning the army's next move.
Verb
We'll need 300 workers to properly staff the hotel.
the 300 workers who staff the hotel
Recent Examples on the Web
Kelly Meyerhofer, jsonline.com, 29 July 2025
If your work wasn’t structured like that, find other similarities between your work and the in-house staff, such as working closely with them, using the same processes, or interacting with the same senior leaders.
—Caroline Ceniza-Levine, Forbes.com, 28 July 2025
Rachel Marsden, Hartford Courant, 27 July 2025
At only two flights to the station per year, NASA only needs enough to staff that station through 2030, after which it will be safely decommissioned and brought back down to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for staff
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
In some counties, staff have doubled the incentive for families to shop locally by securing corporate sponsors.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, jsonline.com, 29 July 2025
If your work wasn’t structured like that, find other similarities between your work and the in-house staff, such as working closely with them, using the same processes, or interacting with the same senior leaders.
—Caroline Ceniza-Levine, Forbes.com, 28 July 2025
Verb
In Western Europe, broadcast authorities were often staffed with pro-NATO gatekeepers or governed by internal policies that ensured public radio and television stayed within the safe bounds of Western orthodoxy.
—Rachel Marsden, Hartford Courant, 27 July 2025
At only two flights to the station per year, NASA only needs enough to staff that station through 2030, after which it will be safely decommissioned and brought back down to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for staff
Cite this Entry
“Staff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/staff. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
staff
1 of 2 noun1
a
: a pole, stick, rod, or bar used as a support or as a sign of authority
a flag hanging limp on its staff
b
: the long handle of a weapon (as a lance or pike)
2
: something that is a source of strength
bread is the staff of life
3
: the five horizontal lines and the spaces between them on which music is written
4
plural staffs
a
: a group of persons serving as assistants to or employees under a chief
a hospital staff
b
: military officers who assist a commanding officer in planning and management but who do not take part in actual combat
staff
adjective
staff
2 of 2 verb
: to supply with a staff or with workers
Medical Definition
staff
noun
: the doctors and surgeons regularly attached to a hospital and helping to determine its policies and guide its activities
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