personnel
personnel Lexical Profile
personnel Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The people employed in an organization, business, or public service, or engaged in an organized undertaking such as military service.
"All laboratory personnel are required to complete annual safety training before handling hazardous materials."
The administrative department within a company or institution responsible for hiring, training, and managing employees; human resources.
"She submitted her updated tax forms and benefit selections directly to personnel on her first day."
Word Nuance & Usage
Frequently confused with the adjective 'personal' (private or individual); 'personnel' is a collective noun stressed on the final syllable that refers to a body of employees and takes a plural verb when referring to individuals, though it cannot be preceded by a specific number (e.g., 'five staff members', not 'five personnel').
• Rhymes for personnel
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the early 19th century from French 'personnel', a noun use of the adjective meaning 'personal', originally contrasting the human members of an organization with its 'matériel' (physical equipment and supplies).