# Staffs

/ˈstæfs/ (US) · CEFR B1 · Noun

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/staffs
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Definition

the groups of people who work for an organization, like a school or a company. You use this plural form when talking about several different teams or organizations.

For teachers: the collective bodies of personnel employed by an organization or business. While the singular form is often used as a collective noun, the plural form specifically refers to multiple distinct groups of employees.

## Examples

- The two hospitals share their medical staffs during emergencies.
- The university president met with the teaching and administrative staffs to discuss the new budget cuts.
- Coordinating the various diplomatic staffs across multiple embassies requires a sophisticated communication network to ensure that policy implementation remains consistent across different regions.

## Pitfalls

- Not "The company has many staffs." but "The company has a large staff." — Learners often use 'staffs' to mean many employees in one company, but 'staff' is already a collective noun for that; 'staffs' only refers to multiple separate organizations.

## Usage notes

- Takes a plural verb. While 'staff' is more common as a collective singular, 'staffs' is used to distinguish between different groups or organizations.

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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.