# staff of life

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/staff-of-life
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

Bread or some other staple foodstuff.

## Examples

- Bread is often called the staff of life.
- In many cultures, people rely on grain as the staff of life to survive.
- During the long winter months, the village families depended on their stored potatoes as their primary staff of life when other crops failed to grow.
- Throughout human history, the humble loaf has served as the staff of life for civilizations across the globe.

## Origin

By extension from the Biblical phrase “break the staff of bread” (Hebrew מַטֶּה לֶחֶם (maté lékhem)), staff (“long, straight rod”) in this context meaning something that acts as a support: see, for example, Leviticus 26:26 (King James Version; spelling modernized): “And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied”; and Ezekiel 4:16: “[…] Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care, and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment: […]”. Compare Egyptian ḫt n ꜥnḫ (“grain; food”, literally “stick or wood of life”).

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.