Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun staff

6 senses of staff

Sense 1
staff -- (personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task; "the hospital has an excellent nursing staff"; "the general relied on his staff to make routine decisions")
       => force, personnel -- (group of people willing to obey orders; "a public force is necessary to give security to the rights of citizens")

Sense 2
staff -- (a strong rod or stick with a specialized utilitarian purpose; "he walked with the help of a wooden staff")
       => stick -- (an implement consisting of a length of wood; "he collected dry sticks for a campfire"; "the kid had a candied apple on a stick")

Sense 3
staff, faculty -- (the body of teachers and administrators at a school; "the dean addressed the letter to the entire staff of the university")
       => body -- (a group of persons associated by some common tie or occupation and regarded as an entity; "the whole body filed out of the auditorium"; "the student body"; "administrative body")

Sense 4
staff -- (building material consisting of plaster and hair; used to cover external surfaces of temporary structure (as at an exposition) or for decoration)
       => building material -- (material used for constructing buildings)

Sense 5
staff -- (a rod carried as a symbol)
       => symbol -- (an arbitrary sign (written or printed) that has acquired a conventional significance)

Sense 6
staff, stave -- ((music) the system of five horizontal lines on which the musical notes are written)
       => musical notation -- ((music) notation used by musicians)

Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb staff

2 senses of staff

Sense 1
staff -- (provide with staff; "This position is not always staffed")
       => provide, supply, ply, cater -- (give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance; "The hostess provided lunch for all the guests")

Sense 2
staff -- (serve on the staff of; "The two men staff the reception desk")
       => serve -- (do duty or hold offices; serve in a specific function; "He served as head of the department for three years"; "She served in Congress for two terms")