Can staff be plural?

Usage Staff may be used as a plural noun to mean the members of a staff. The company employs 20 full-time staff. The staff are at a meeting.

What is the dictionary meaning of staff?

1 : a pole, stick, rod, or bar used as a support or as a sign of authority the staff of a flag a bishop’s staff. 2 plural staffs : a group of persons serving as assistants to or employees under a chief a hospital staff the administrative staff.

Do we say staffs or staff?

Staff or staffs Answer: The correct word is staff if you are referring to a group of people within an organisation. Pam Peters points out that the use of staff as a collective noun creates the need for a word to describe an individual member of staff. Words commonly used are employee or staffer.

What verb comes after staff?

If the collective noun (staff) is acting as a single unit, use the singular verb: “The staff is very efficient.” If the collective noun is meant to highlight the actions of discrete individuals who are all doing different things, use the plural verb: “The staff are working on many projects for the holiday party.”

When can you use staffs?

Note 2: For staff in the sense of “a body of employees”, the plural is always staffs; otherwise, both staffs and staves are acceptable, except in compounds; such as flagstaffs. The stave of a barrel or cask is a back-formation from staves, which is its plural.

What does getting staffed mean?

to be or provide the people who work for an organization: Many charity shops in Britain are staffed by/with volunteers. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases.

Is the word Staff derogatory?

It’s an impersonal, hierarchical, old-fashioned noun that’s too ‘Downton Abbey’ and limits an organisation’s ability to inspire passion and innovation in people. When you consider the people who work for you as an amorphous group of staff, you’re nominalising them.

Is staff plural or single?

staff ​Definitions and Synonyms ​‌‌‌

Can you use staffs?

Staff or Staffs? (Do you use ”staff” with a plural or singular verb?) Staff(meaning a collection of employees) is both the singular and plural of the noun. Staff is a collective noun so you need to think if the staff are performing an action together or separately. The staff does all their work from home.

What is a staff in the Bible?

According to the Book of Exodus in the Bible, the staff (Hebrew: מַטֶּה matteh, translated “rod” in the King James Bible) was used to produce water from a rock, was transformed into a snake and back, and was used at the parting of the Red Sea.

What is a staff used for?

A staff is a unique instrument used totally for the care and management of sheep … only sheep. The symbol represents the concern and compassion that a shepherd has for his sheep. The rod conveys the concept of authority, power, discipline and defense of the sheep.