staff

CEFRA2

/stɑːf/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    The people who work for an organization.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A series of horizontal lines on which musical notes are written; a stave.

Examples

  • Fortune is the rod of the weak, and the staff of the brave.

  • I was treated with the utmost courtesy by the staff.

At a glance

Sits at A2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
3

Also pronounced

  • [staf]
  • [steəf]

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The employees of a business.

  2. A long, straight, thick wooden rod or stick, especially one used to assist in walking.

  3. A mixture of plaster and fibre used as a temporary exterior wall covering.

More examples

In context

  • Our staff is eager to help you.

  • The company employed 10 new members of staff this month.

  • The company has taken on 1600 more highly-paid staff.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The hotel blank includes front desk clerks and housekeeping.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English staf, from Old English stæf (“letter of the alphabet”), from Proto-West Germanic *stab, from Proto-Germanic *stabaz. Cognate with Dutch staf, German Stab, Danish stav, Swedish stav. Sense of "group of military officers that assists a commander" and similar meanings, attested from 1702, is influenced by or is even from German Stab.