back staff

American

noun

an obsolete instrument for determining the altitude of the sun by facing away from the sun, sighting upon the horizon, adjusting a cursor until its shadow falls upon the sight through which the horizon appears, and measuring the resulting arc.

Etymology

Origin of back staff

First recorded in 1620–30

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.

For now, Glenn Medical Center says it needs $40 million to $50 million to restart operations and bring back staff.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 15, 2026

Reuters said that Amazon has been paring back staff over the past two years in areas like communications, devices and podcasting.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 27, 2025

At the moment, Ms. Armstrong is considering reducing her open hours, limiting food service times, closing off parts of the pub and cutting back staff hours.

From New York Times • Sep. 3, 2022

"I do worry about the capacity of those firms to bring back staff on a full-time basis."

From BBC • Oct. 6, 2021

Pack on back, staff in hand, no one took me for other than a Russian pilgrim till I showed my passport.

From A Tramp's Sketches by Graham, Stephen

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023