understaff

U1N1D2E1R1S1T1A1F4F4

verb

To furnish with too few staff; to staff inadequately.

OriginEnglish staff ← Middle English under- ← Old English under- →
Scrabble 17
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Meanings

verbunderstaff (third-person singular simple present understaffs, present participle understaffing, simple past and past participle understaffed)

present singular third person understaffs · participle present understaffing · participle past understaffed · past understaffed

  1. transitiveTo furnish with too few staff; to staff inadequately.
noununderstaff pl (plural only)
  1. pluralplural onlyStaff (employees) who are subordinate to other staff.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁entér
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂én
  4. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-?
  5. Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰí
  6. Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰér
  7. Proto-Germanic*under
  8. Proto-West Germanic*undar
  9. Old Englishunder-
  10. Middle Englishunder-
  11. Englishunder-
  12. Englishstaff
  13. Englishunderstaff

From under- + staff.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

understaff. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/understaff

MLA

“understaff.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/understaff. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “understaff,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/understaff.

Source: understaff on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.