staff
[stɑːf]noun, verb
staff is spelled S-T-A-F-F: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 120 times per million words in written English, the 873rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, staff means “A long, straight, thick wooden rod or stick, especially one used to assist in walking” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of staff is staffs or staves.
How many letters and syllables are in staff?
| Letters | 5: S-T-A-F-F |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 120 times per million words; the 873rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is staff?
Staff appears 120 times per million words in written English, the 873rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce staff?
- /stɑːf/
- UK [stɑːf]
- Australia [stäːf]
Staff has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-staff.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of staff
- staffs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- staves plural
- staffing participle, present
- staffed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does staff mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A long, straight, thick wooden rod or stick, especially one used to assist in walking.
- 2
A series of horizontal lines on which musical notes are written; a stave.
- 3
People employed by a business or other organisation.
The company employed 10 new members of staff this month.
- 4
A mixture of plaster and fibre used as a temporary exterior wall covering.
- 5
A pole, stick, or wand borne as an ensign of authority; a badge of office.
a constable's staff
- 6
A pole upon which a flag is supported and displayed.
- 7
archaicThe rung of a ladder.
- 8
A series of verses so disposed that, when it is concluded, the same order begins again; a stanza; a stave.
verb
- 1
To supply (a business, volunteer organization, etc.) with employees or staff members.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Staff in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bâton, canne , portée , personnel , doter en personnel |
| German | Stab , Notenlinien , Belegschaft, Personal, Mitarbeiter |
| Portuguese | cajado , pauta , pessoal, staff, stafe, estafe |
| Spanish | bastón, báculo , varas, pauta, pentagrama , empleados |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does staff come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).