staff of life

American  

noun

1. bread, considered as the mainstay of the human diet.

---

staff of life Cultural  

1. A basic staple food, such as bread, rice, or potatoes: “Rice is the staff of life in eastern Asia.”

---

staff of life Idioms  

1. A staple or necessary food, especially bread. For example, Rice is the staff of life for a majority of the earth's people. This expression, which uses staff in the sense of “a support,” was first recorded in 1638.

---

Etymology

Origin of staff of life

First recorded in 1630–40

Example Sentences

The staff of life is the stuff to like at Michele’s.

From Washington Post • Feb. 4, 2022

Dr. Singh, a wheat breeder, grabbed seed heads that should have been plump with the staff of life.

From New York Times • Jun. 5, 2011

“Is bread the staff of life or the staff of death?”

From The New Yorker • Sep. 27, 2010

Just as bread or meat is the staff of life for many nations, for others fish is the very stuff that life is made of.

From Time Magazine Archive

They ask Dilip Nandi to play the part of Ashima’s brother, to hold the child and feed him rice, the Bengali staff of life, for the very first time.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri