What does "staff" mean?
A long, straight, thick wooden rod or stick, especially one used to assist in walking.
Staff
/stɑːf/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A long, straight, thick wooden rod or stick, especially one used to assist in walking.
- Grammar: staff is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: stave, academic department, accouter, advisory body.
- Useful contrasts: consulting contractor, executive board, nonprofit board.
- Usage evidence: Fortune is the rod of the weak, and the staff of the brave.
How to use "staff"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "staff" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "staff" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "staff" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "staff" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "staff" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "stave" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "staff", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A long, straight, thick wooden rod or stick, especially one used to assist in walking. countable, uncountable
"And thus ſhall ye eate it [the lamb]: with your loines girded, your ſhooes on your feet, and your ſtaffe in your hand: and ye ſhall eate it in haſte: it is the Lords Paſſeouer."
- 2 Misspelling of staph. alt-of, misspelling
- 3 a strong rod or stick with a specialized utilitarian purpose wordnet
- 4 A series of horizontal lines on which musical notes are written; a stave. countable, uncountable
- 5 (music) the system of five horizontal lines on which the musical notes are written wordnet
Show 14 more definitions
- 6 The employees of a business. countable, uncountable
"The company employed 10 new members of staff this month."
- 7 a rod carried as a symbol wordnet
- 8 A mixture of plaster and fibre used as a temporary exterior wall covering.ᵂ uncountable
- 9 the body of teachers and administrators at a school wordnet
- 10 A pole, stick, or wand borne as an ensign of authority; a badge of office. countable, uncountable
"a constable's staff"
- 11 personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task wordnet
- 12 A pole upon which a flag is supported and displayed. countable, uncountable
- 13 building material consisting of plaster and hair; used to cover external surfaces of temporary structure (as at an exposition) or for decoration wordnet
- 14 The rung of a ladder. archaic, countable, uncountable
"I ascend at one [ladder] of six hundred and thirty-nine staves."
- 15 A series of verses so disposed that, when it is concluded, the same order begins again; a stanza; a stave. countable, uncountable
"Mr. Cowley had found out, that no kind of Staff is proper for an Heroick Poem; as being all too lirical:"
- 16 An arbor, as of a wheel or a pinion of a watch. countable, uncountable
- 17 The grooved director for the gorget, or knife, used in cutting for stone in the bladder. countable, uncountable
- 18 An establishment of officers in various departments attached to an army, to a section of an army, or to the commander of an army. The general's staff consists of those officers about his person who are employed in carrying his commands into execution. countable, uncountable
"At the head of that division which had Westminster Bridge for its approach to the scene of action, Lord George Gordon took his post; with Gashford at his right hand, and sundry ruffians, of most unpromising appearance, forming a kind of staff about him."
- 19 A form of token once used, in combination with a ticket, for safe train movements between two points on a single line. archaic, countable, uncountable
"The train-staff and ticket system was used widely at one time, until superseded by electrical token systems, the first of which, the tablet system, appeared in 1878, […]."
Verb
- 1 To supply (a business, volunteer organization, etc.) with employees or staff members. transitive
"Interlaken East station is jointly owned with the standard gauge Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon Railway from Bern and Thun and the Swiss Federal Railways metre-gauge Brünig line from Lucerne, but is managed and staffed by the Bernese Oberland group."
- 2 provide with staff wordnet
- 3 serve on the staff of wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Fortune is the rod of the weak, and the staff of the brave."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "staff"?
Common synonyms include: stave, academic department, accouter, advisory body, advocate, alpenstock.
How do you use "staff" in a sentence?
Fortune is the rod of the weak, and the staff of the brave.
How do you pronounce "staff"?
Pronounced /stɑːf/.
Etymology
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, 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.