ENGLISH
REFERENCE

personnel

n. uncountable
C1 Advanced Oxford US //ˌpɝsəˈnɛɫ// UK //pˌɜːsənˈɛl// per·son·nel Dialect

n. the people who work for a company, organization, or the military. It can also mean the department that manages employees and hiring.

n. the body of persons employed in an organization or place of work; also the department within an organization that deals with the recruitment and welfare of employees.


SIMPLE

All personnel must attend the safety meeting.

CONTEXTUAL

The hospital is currently hiring medical personnel to staff the new emergency wing.

COMPLEX

The restructuring plan aims to optimize the deployment of existing personnel while simultaneously reducing administrative overhead across all regional branches.

Synonyms
Origin

Unadapted borrowing from French personnel. Doublet of personal.

Usage

Plural in construction; it takes a plural verb when referring to a group of people. When referring to a department, it is often treated as a singular collective noun.

Pitfall

The personnels are ready.The personnel are ready.Personnel is a collective noun that is already plural in meaning; it does not take an 's' at the end.

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