understaffed

American  

[uhn-der-staft, -stahft] / ˌʌn dərˈstæft, -ˈstɑft /

adjective

1. having an insufficient number of personnel.

   The hospital is understaffed.

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understaffed British  

/ ˌʌndəˈstɑːft /

adjective

1. not having enough staff

   her department is understaffed

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Etymology

Origin of understaffed

First recorded in 1890–95; under- + staff ¹ + -ed ³

Explanation

When a business doesn't have quite enough employees, it is understaffed. Be patient with your server if the restaurant is understaffed — they're probably doing the work of several people! Your lemonade stand is understaffed if there aren't enough workers to squeeze lemons, fill cups, and give customers change. And a school is understaffed if teachers are out sick and no substitutes are available to fill in. The word comes from the verb staff, "to provide with a staff of assistants," and the earlier noun, which meant "group of military officers" prior to "group of workers."

Example Sentences

"Many institutions appear to be overwhelmed, understaffed, and not fully prepared for the volume of requests received over the past few months," he says.

From BBC • May 1, 2026

Police are woefully understaffed and hampered by public policy, said Blair Besten, president of downtown’s Historic Core Business Improvement District, a nonprofit that arranges graffiti removal, trash pickup and safety patrols in the area.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2026

Across the United States, major airports have been inundated by flight disruptions, security lines spilling out of terminals, air traffic control outages, and overworked and understaffed employees struggling to keep it all running.

From Slate • Mar. 24, 2026

Alternatively, Xi could choose to leave the military leadership understaffed until the party’s next twice-a-decade congress in 2027.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026

Furthermore, the Cambridge lab was understaffed and Kendrew was looking for someone to join him in his study of the protein myoglobin.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson