personnel
Americannoun
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a body of persons employed in an organization or place of work.
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(used with a plural verb) persons.
All personnel are being given the day off.
noun
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the people employed in an organization or for a service or undertaking Compare materiel
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Also called: human resources. the office or department that interviews, appoints, or keeps records of employees
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( as modifier )
a personnel officer
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Usage
Some usage guides object to the use of personnel as a plural. However, this use is well established and standard in all varieties of speech and writing. The use of personnel with a preceding number is largely restricted to business and government communications: Six personnel were transferred.
Etymology
Origin of personnel
1825–35; < French, noun use of personnel (adj.) personal < Late Latin persōnāle, neuter of persōnālis; replacing personal (noun), Anglicized form of French personnel; compare German Personal, variant of Personale, Italian personale. See matériel
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
With key personnel injured and players lacking form, Farrell's team has a new look this championship.
From BBC
"We want to buy, invest, and consolidate our presence in India, with technology transfer and training of personnel."
From Barron's
“Department personnel continue to work with the third-party telecommunications provider to determine the root cause of the outage and identify corrective measures to help prevent this issue from occurring again.”
From Los Angeles Times
She attends and drops out of college, works in a shoe store and then uses her family’s connections to get a job as a personnel clerk for Indian Railways.
Security personnel sent by Xi intercepted Zhang en route to the gathering at the Central Party School in Beijing, said people close to Chinese government decision-making.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
