staff

staff1 [ stæf ] noun ***

1. ) singular or uncount the people who work for a particular company, organization, or institution:

It is a small hospital with a staff of just over a hundred.

The staff is not happy about the new arrangement.

join the staff: She joined the staff in 1976.

full-time/part-time staff: The embassy employs around fifty on its full-time staff.

a member of the staff: Peter became a very valued member of the staff.

a ) the ordinary workers, not the managers:

We need better communication between management and staff.

b ) only before noun relating to the staff:

a staff cafeteria/lounge

a staff shortage: They blame staff shortages for the delay.

c ) the people who do paid work in a place, rather than the other people there:

recreational facilities for students and staff

d ) the nursing/teaching/medical etc. staff the people within an organization who do a particular type of work

2. ) count the set of lines on which music is written: STAVE

3. ) count a long stick used for making walking easier, used mainly in the past

a ) a FLAGPOLE:

at half staff

b ) a stick that some officials carry on formal occasions:

a staff of office

staff

staff 2 [ stæf ] verb transitive

1. ) to provide an organization with the workers it needs:

fully staffed (=with enough people working): The receptionist's office must be fully staffed at all times.

2. ) to be a worker in an organization:

It is a well-managed office staffed by qualified and professional people.

Many thanks to all those who baked cakes and staffed the booth.