a strong rod or stick with a specialized utilitarian purpose; "he walked with the help of a wooden staff"
(music) the system of five horizontal lines on which the musical notes are written
a rod carried as a symbol
the body of teachers and administrators at a school; "the dean addressed the letter to the entire staff of the university"
personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task; "the hospital has an excellent nursing staff"; "the general relied on his staff to make routine decisions"
building material consisting of plaster and hair; used to cover external surfaces of temporary structure (as at an exposition) or for decoration
provide with staff; "This position is not always staffed"
serve on the staff of; "The two men staff the reception desk"
the activity of operating something (a machine or business etc.); "her smooth operation of the vehicle gave us a surprisingly comfortable ride"
a planned activity involving many people performing various actions; "they organized a rescue operation"; "the biggest police operation in French history"; "running a restaurant is quite an operation"; "consolidate the companies various operations"
a process or series of acts especially of a practical or mechanical nature involved in a particular form of work; "the operations in building a house"; "certain machine tool operations"
a medical procedure involving an incision with instruments; performed to repair damage or arrest disease in a living body; "they will schedule the operation as soon as an operating room is available"; "he died while undergoing surgery"
activity by a military or naval force (as a maneuver or campaign); "it was a joint operation of the navy and air force"
a business especially one run on a large scale; "a large-scale farming operation"; "a multinational operation"; "they paid taxes on every stage of the operation"; "they had to consolidate their operations"
(computer science) data processing in which the result is completely specified by a rule (especially the processing that results from a single instruction); "it can perform millions of operations per second"
process or manner of functioning or operating; "the power of its engine determine its operation"; "the plane's operation in high winds"; "they compared the cooking performance of each oven"; "the jet's performance conformed to high standards"
the state of being in effect or being operative; "that rule is no longer in operation"
a conference between two or more people to consider a particular question; "frequent consultations with his lawyer"; "a consultation of several medical specialists"
a conference (usually with someone important); "he had a consultation with the judge"; "he requested an audience with the king"